Moscow City and Not Just the Russian Government Profoundly Affects Development of All Other Federal Subjects, Shirov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Nov. 13 – In a paper that has not been published, Aleksandr Shirov, the head of the Institute of National Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, says that Moscow “directly determines the development of the economy and the financial well-being of the federal subjects.”

            Some of this dominance reflects the fact that it is the seat of the central government but much of it reflects the enormous power of businesses centered in the capital which simultaneously aid and exploit the economies of the federal subjects, Shirov says (http://club-rf.ru/news/65597).

            In many cases, the Russian economic prognosticator says, Moscow is responsible for 40 percent or more of the GDP generated in the regions, to judge from excerpts of his paper that have been published, according to a report by the editors of the experts of the Club of the Regions portal.

            That Moscow is predominant is widely recognized by independent experts, but it is seldom acknowledged so directly by someone like Shirov who is close to the center of power. Indeed, the fact that his paper hasn’t been published in full reflects the judgment of the Kremlin that this is not the kind of information it wants distribute.

            After all, his figure of 40 percent dependence of the federal subjects on Moscow is much higher than many in the regions now think and therefore it is likely that as the numbers in his paper do leak out, it will exacerbate anti-Moscow feelings in many of them, given the economic stringencies the regions are now subject to because of Moscow’s policies.