MOSCOW. Dec 5 (Interfax) – Russian Economic Development Minister Andrei Belousov has said money from the Reserve Fund should be used to build new highways. “We need to resolve the problem of funding highway construction. I do not think we can really resolve it without using oil and gas money – our resources from the Reserve Fund to build roads. […]
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(Interfax – November 14, 2012) Russia’s chief auditor has described as “critical” the scale of embezzlement of fund allocated for state procurement, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 14 November. “Every year, R1,000bn is embezzled from the funds allocated for state procurement,” Chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergey Stepashin was quoted as saying. The sum is equal to […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov and Olga Tanas – November 14, 2012) Russian President Vladimir Putin backed a planned pension overhaul opposed by the Finance Ministry, Economy Ministry and asset managers, who warn it would curb economic growth. The Labor Ministry plan would divert taxes from future retirement plans to meet current pension payments and narrow the state system’s […]
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(Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 9, Issue 200 – Pavel Felgenhauer – November 2, 2012) Last week, the public standing of one of President Vladimir Putin’s most powerful cohorts — Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov — was seriously undermined when Russia’s Investigation Committee (Slyedstvenny Kommitet RossyeSKR) publicly accused the defense ministry-controlled holding company “Oboronservis” of corruption and […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer – October 21, 2012) Nina Sultankina is telling Vladimir Putin to ignore Russia’s ticking pensions time bomb. As the 50-year-old road supervisor counts the days until she can retire and tend to her failing health in 2016, she is refusing to work longer and not even the Russian president can change her mind. “I […]
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MOSCOW, October 17 (RIA Novosti)-Russia plans to boost annual defense spending by 59 percent to almost 3 trillion rubles ($97 billion) in 2015, up from $61 billion in 2012, the head of the State Duma’s Defense Committee told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. “Targeted national defense spending as a percentage of GDP will amount to 3.2 percent in 2013, 3.4 percent […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Rachel Nielsen – October 16, 2012) In a recent comedy sketch show, a police officer forks over the pay raise that he hid from his wife after she hears President Vladimir Putin announce the increase on TV. “Vladimir Vladimirovich,” the policeman mutters on the “6 Kadrov” television show, “thank you for raising our salaries, but […]
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MOSCOW. Oct 15 (Interfax) – International Expert Council for Russia Chairman Alexei Kudrin said at a World Economic Forum session, attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, that the prevalence of social and military spending in the Russian budget had its shortcomings. “It was noted (during discussions on Sunday) that the structure of the budget was weak and that there […]
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MOSCOW, October 11 (RIA Novosti)-Russia will spend almost a trillion US dollars by 2020 to improve its educational standards and promote the country’s innovation-based development, matching what it will spend on defense, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday. “Russia’s planned consolidated budget spending on education will be about 8 trillion rubles [$258 billion] by 2015, and the spending forecast […]
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Russia expects tax reforms to boost oil output – Reuters – October 9, 2012 – click here for original article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/09/russia-energy-idUSL6E8L9PU620121009 Reuters covers Russian aspirations to expand oil output through tax breaks: Russia aims to bring on line 1.4 million to 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day with new tax reforms designed to reduce the levy on future […]
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MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) – Although salaries for members of the armed forces are rising fast, Russia will continue to rely on conscription in coming years, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said in an interview with the newsweekly Itogi to be published on Monday. Serdyukov touted the fact that commanders of Russia’s Pacific Fleet nuclear ballistic missile submarines will earn […]
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MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) – Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has called it impossible for Russia to simultaneously have a high level of social protection, a large army, and a lot of state properties. “We cannot allow ourselves to simultaneously have a very high level of social protection in a system built on paternalistic principles, at the same time […]
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Dmitri Travin – www.opendemocracy.net – September 28, 2012 Dmitry Travin is Research Director at the European University in St. Petersburg’s Centre of Modernization Studies As the Russian government tries to put together its budget plan for 2013-2015, it is clear that it cannot possibly meet all its pre-election promises. Dmitry Travin looks at the financial crisis facing the country. The […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, 19 September) The Russian president’s decrees of 7 May, which reflect (Vladimir Putin’s) election campaign ideas, are a priority, and R1,145bn (36.7bn dollars) is to be spent on their implementation over the next three years, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told journalists. “The implementation of the decrees is a priority. For all the ministries and agencies, this […]
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