Russia Reform Monitor No. 2294

RUSSIA STILL HAS AN ALCOHOLISM PROBLEM
Russian Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova made headlines earlier this month by asserting that 70 percent of deaths among adult Russian men are alcohol-related. Deaths among working-age males remain high despite Russia's progress in other key development indicators, and the magnitude of Skvortsova's claim carries negative consequences for the country's economic and social trajectory. Given growing awareness among the public about the questionable validity of the government's official statistics, it is no surprise that the Minister's statement has met with controversy – both from skeptics who believe the figures are inflated and from others who believe that the true mortality rate among this key demographic is higher still. (Window on Eurasia, February 9, 2019)

PUTIN'S PLANS FOR URBAN RENEWAL...
Vladimir Putin's ambitious urban revitalization plans have become a central theme of his latest presidential term. Despite an economic slowdown and fears that Russia's aging population will face a reduced quality of life, Putin has approved billions of dollars for urban development projects in forty cities all over the country. Building on recent successful urban redevelopment projects in Moscow, small towns like Tver Obslast's Torzhok are sharing roughly $1.5 billion annually for new infrastructure and the revitalization of historic buildings, town squares, and streets.

Dmitry Orlov, one of the leaders of Putin's "United Russia" party, has described "making comfortable urban environments" as a critical part of the Kremlin's strategy. Indeed, Putin has counted on these projects to boost his domestic approval ratings, and he publicly encourages local officials to seek out the opinion of their residents in the projects' design. The Kremlin hopes the redevelopment will serve as a magnet for tourists and investors, a compelling destination for residents seeking affordable housing, and a boon for local tax coffers. The strategy is also intended to bolster Russia's middle class, combating the depopulation crisis in small Russian towns and convincing its residents to choose life at home over a move to the big cities or emigration from the Russian Federation. (The Moscow Times, February 4, 2019)

...AND THEIR REAL COST
However, it is becoming clear that the Kremlin will need to pay a high price in order to accomplish its objectives. Infrastructure redevelopment is only one part of Putin's thirteen "National Projects," designed to propel Russia's struggling economy into the global top five, along with plans to invest in health care, education, ecology, and demography. A new government report published in early February estimates that the total investment necessary to carry out this agenda will cost 25.7 trillion rubles ($391 billion). The bulk of the funding will be sourced from the federal budget (13.1 trillion rubles), with 4.9 trillion coming from regional budgets and another 7.5 trillion from "extra-budgetary sources." (The Moscow Times, February 11, 2019)

[EDITORS' NOTE: The Kremlin's plans are the latest in a long list of national projects promoted by President Putin over the past two decades with the goal of marshalling public support and enthusiasm. By and large, none of these initiatives have materialized.]

RUSSIA'S HOMELESSNESS CRISIS
Another major discrepancy is emerging between Russia's official statistics regarding homelessness in the country and the reality behind the data. The Russian government claims that the country only has 64,000 homeless people, but other leading figures have asserted that the figure is exponentially higher - somewhere between 3 million and 5 million, according to Duma official Sergei Mironov. Paul Goble notes that, in St. Petersburg and Moscow alone, activists and shelter leaders report the number of homeless approaches 60,000 in each metropolis – and fewer than 300 state-sponsored beds exist to shelter them. They claim that the government deliberately obscures the size of the problem because it fails to dedicate sufficient public resources to providing food, shelter, and medical care for this demographic. For Russia's homeless, these dire conditions are compounded by the fact that most employers refuse to hire any candidates unable to provide an officially registered address. (Window on Eurasia, February 10, 2019)