WORLD REPORT – Russia

Starting April 1, the Russian government is raising the pension payment by 6.3%.

This battle has been going on for years. Below will share progress of political party going back as far as 2006, a time when only seven regions participated in elections. The demographics of our world’s aging population is changing rapidly, with an increasing percentage of our world reaching pension age. This is on ongoing silent crisis that someone must address soon. Russia, now working outside a Soviet Union, faces the same challenges as any other country on this planet.

Below is an example of “low participation” of the people that want the change.

If One wants change, One must Take Action!

Regions which participated in the elections are marked in red

Russians across the country went to the polls on Sunday one week ago. The “highlight” of the free regional elections held on October 8, 2006 was the fact that the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s faction) failed to make any gains, taking only a few seats across the regions; Russian liberals, on the other hand, did not score enough votes to win even a single seat in any region.

President Putin’s party Edinaya Rossiya (United Russia) didn’t score as high as expected either, but still took first place. The surprise of the election was the success of the Party of Pensioners, whose entire platform is paying pensions to veterans and the elderly and giving each Russian citizen royalties from Russia’s vast natural resources. The election results show three very strong trends in Russian society: 1) a plurality of the people trust the ruling party; 2) Russians have lost any belief in the so-called liberal parties; 3) there is a growing awareness that Russia can improve social services now that real wealth is being created and the oligarchs are no longer running the country.

“Please view the extended post for election results in detail from representative Russian regions and brief descriptions of the parties. No further comment from us is needed, as the numbers speak for themselves.”

Yuri Mamchur on October 16, 2006

Edinaya Rossiya (United Russia) – advocates for a just society and strong economy to restore Russia.

KPRF (Communists) – same old goals: fight capitalism, and bring back the Soviet Union.

Partiya Pensionerov (Party of Pensioners) – paying pensions to veterans and the elderly and giving each Russian citizen royalties from Russia’s vast natural resources.

LDPR– the party of Zhirinovsky has a very vague general statement as its main motto. The real idea is to appeal to 5 -7% of the population which likes to hear locker-room jokes and watch fist fights in the Duma.

Partiya Zhizni (Party of Life) – strongly emphasizes improving education in the regions at both the secondary and collegiate levels.

Rodina (Motherland)– Russia for Russians and without oligarchs (read previous Russia Blog posts). The Party of Life, the Party of Pensioners and Rodina are in the process of merging into one political party.

Svoboda i Narodovlastie (Freedom and Rule of the People) – against the oligarchs (officially); common men should rule the nation.

Svobodnaya Rossiya (Free Russia) – advocates for stable democratic society with a strong economy

As explained by the Prime Minister, “ the social responsibility of government to the people means the implementation of all its commitments. This increase was previously agreed on. The Government must fulfill that promise.”

CHELYABINSK, Russia — About 100 people rallied in the central Russian city of Chelyabinsk today to protest the unchecked prices of utilities and retirees’ low pensions, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reports.

The protesters gathered in the city center holding signs such as “Ministers, read the constitution!”

“Everyone will be a pensioner, give us a fair pension!”

and the “Country needs indexation for inflation!”

The pensioners sang “The Internationale,” the international communist anthem.

Россия

Деньги для пенсионеров напечатают

Премьер-министр готовится опять пересесть в кресло президента.

Об этом можно судить по принятому им недавно решению повысить пенсии. Потому что денег на повышение в бюджете нет и взять их неоткуда.

С 1 апреля в России на 6,3 процента будет увеличен размер пенсий. Как пояснил премьер-министр, «социальная ответственность правительства перед населением означает выполнение всех взятых на себя обязательств. А поскольку об этом повышении говорилось заранее, то правительству необходимо выполнять обещание».

По расчетам экономистов, повышение пенсий потребует от 130 до 170 млрд рублей. Это неминуемо приведет к увеличению дефицита средств Пенсионного фонда РФ.

Комментирует Рифат Гусейнов, доктор экономических наук (Новосибирск)

С учетом того, что в бюджете сейчас нет средств на повышение, это вызовет резкий рост инфляции. Значит, включат станок и напечатают денег. А пострадают все те же пенсионеры, которые, получив очередную подачку, в итоге приобретут очередной рост цен на товары первой необходимости, и все это в условиях жесточайшего кризиса.

Решение, конечно же, антиэкономическое и абсолютно популистское. Путин дал старт предвыборной президентской гонке — началась борьба за лояльность избирателей.

Excerpt: http://www.globalaging.org/

RUSSIA BLOG: http://www.russiablog.org

Russia Blog presents up-to-date news, facts and commentary on the state of events in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The blog is managed by Yuri Mamchur, Director of Discovery Institute’s Real Russia Project, a member of MBA class 2011 at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, and a composer in his spare time.

WOMEN’S HELPLINES-RUSSIA: http://www.womensaid.org.

GLOBAL PENSION STATISTICS: http://www.oecd.org/