(EDM) State budgets are a difficult topic of debate in all countries. And Russia, which used to pass them fairly easily, is now facing some unpleasant realities related to the 2014 budget that was presented by the government last week. For one thing, many social programs are slated for cuts, while expenditures on hard security keep rising; for instance, the share of defense spending is increasing from 15.7 to 17.8 percent (Novaya Gazeta, October 1). For another, the government has proposed using current payroll contributions to private pension savings to cover the expanding hole in the state-run Pension Fund, which amounts to a “temporary expropriation” of other people’s money (Vedomosti, October 4; Kommersant, October 2). This budget policy puts the emphasis on tactical maneuvering in order to avoid the painful revisions necessitated by the fact that the Russian economy has entered a phase of stagnation that. By the most positive accounts, this stagnation will be quite protracted though not degenerate into a recession (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, October 1). […]
[…] Professor Sergei Medvedev, a well-known commentator in Russia’s political and cultural debates, expressed a different dream. He argued that the Soviet and then Russian track record of “conquering” the Arctic has been so destructive for the fragile environment that all economic activity in the High North should be banned and a natural preserve in this vast region should be established (http://www.forbes.ru/mneniya-
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