(Point & Counterpoint) Maria Lipman speaks with Evgeny Gontmacher about the political and socioeconomic implications of raising the retirement age. Gontmacher is the deputy director responsible for social policy projects and recommendations at Aleksei Kudrin’s Committee of Civil Initiatives.
Soon after his inauguration for a fourth presidential term, President Vladimir Putin held his annual call-in show (Pryamaya liniya) with the Russian people. He spoke a great deal about his plans to cut poverty, boost economic growth, and improve medical care and demographics trends – saying for instance that life expectancy should reach at least 80 years of age by 2024. When asked whether the retirement age would be raised, Putin didn’t say yes or no. Instead, his response was lengthy and evasive. […]
