Putin hasn’t Reduced Huge Differences among Regions in State Spending Per Capita, ‘To Be Precise’ Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 11 – Government spending per capita by the federal subjects is five times greater in Sakhalin than in Dagestan even after correcting for differences in the cost of living, the ‘To Be Precise’ portal reports. And these differences are something that Putin, despite his control over revenue flows, has done nothing to reduce over the past decade.

            Even if one adjusts spending for differences in cost of living, such government spending per capita is three to five times greater in Sakhalin, Yamalo-Nenets AD, Moscow and St. Petersburg than in the North Caucasus republics (tochno.st/materials/na-saxaline-na-odnogo-zitelia-tratiat-v-5-raz-bolse-cem-v-dagestane-i-za-desiat-let-razryv-ne-sokratilsia).

            These differences reflect the different economic situations these federal subjects are in and also the fact that the redistribution of taxes by Moscow has not reduced them, despite widespread assumptions that the wealthier regions are subsidizing the poorer. In fact, in per capita terms, the reverse may often be the case.

            And because the federal budget is now distributing less than it did earlier because of Moscow’s efforts to reduce spending domestically because of Putin’s war in Ukraine, that will increase. Last year, Natalya Zubarevich says, 53 of the federal subjects saw their subsidies decline in real terms, far more than before 2022.