“I was looking forward to retirement. I worked for 35 years, was already become hard,” says 56-year-old Eugene Yakimovskoye. I loved my job, but it was difficult.”
Last year at the age of 55 years, she retired after 25 years at the factory of musical instruments “lyre”. She still feels the sharp smell of varnish.
“I have for many years dreamed that I would become free, happy and will do what you want. And I dream about being an instructor in physical education,” says Yakimovskoye.
Now the dream of millions of Russians about life on the pension can be over before it starts.
Putin’s big pension shock
This week, Putin’s strategists have put forward some strong proposals on the future of Russia. They brought many Russians into a rage.
The most dramatic proposal is to increase the retirement age from 55 years to 63 years for women and 65 for men. It is also proposed for 20 years to freeze pensions.
“This will reduce the number of future retirees by 9%”, — said the former Russian Finance Minister and head of the Center for strategic studies, Alexei Kudrin, presenting a plan of strategic development of Russia until 2035.
“The majority of Russians understand that we’re going to this,” says Yakimovskoye with which the correspondent of Aftenposten met during her workout on Mosfilmovskaya street.
“But it’s too dramatic. Us, Russian, it takes time to get used to such a serious coup,” — said Yakimovskoye.
Five very real threats looming over the Russians
Their dire predictions of Putin’s strategic advisors justify the following:
1. The growing technological gap between Russia and the West.
2. Russia is growing slower than the rest of the world: an average of ten years growth was 1% per year.
3. By 2030 Russians aged 20-39 years will be ten million less. Today in the working age are 56% of Russians. After 20 years, every Russian citizen will have to contain two seniors, if all goes like now.
4. Russia cannot afford to maintain what experts call “a satisfactory defense.” A third of the Russian budget now goes to expenditures related to defense and security.
“In the future we will be simply unable to provide our citizens a decent life”, — the newspaper writes Gazeta.ru.
How Russia can avoid economic collapse
In addition to raising the retirement age and freezing pensions, and other proposed measures.
• In order to provide much-needed “export boom”, the rules and bureaucracy should be simplified and reversed.
• To support on the fly, it is proposed to construct 1,2 thousand km high-speed rail lines and 5 thousand kilometers of highways.
• Spending on defense, security, the police will be greatly reduced, while the allocations for education and health should increase.
• Russia should implement the privatization of major state companies in control of most of the Russian economy.
• Use 10-12 large consortia with Russian and foreign participation needs to start a “technological revolution”.
“My kids can handle it. I don’t”
Nobody thinks that Putin dares to decide on the proposals put forward before the election.
Important explanation of Putin’s popularity lies in the substantial increase in pensions.
But during the economic crisis, the Russians paid the price in lower living standards, higher prices and lower wages.
The head of Putin’s Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina and adviser on economic strategy Alexei Kudrin defended a hard line with high interest rates to curb inflation.
The most implacable their critics — the Russian businessmen-the oligarchs and the Bank executives, who believe that the sky-high interest rates affect all innovation.
Eugene turned the dream into reality
“Most of us pensioners continue to work. Many retirement just to live,” says Yakimovskoye, who has two children and three grandchildren. Her husband of 52 years died of a heart attack.
Talking to the correspondent of Aftenposten on how much she lives Yakimovskoye wants.
In Moscow, pensioners receive a minimum pension of 2.1 thousand CZK per month. Many Russian just ashamed to admit it, what tiny money they actually have to live with.
Yakimovskoye trying to think of a good.
“After I retired, I became an instructor for “Nordic walking” — says Eugene Yakimovskoye with delight.
“It was my dream. Now I have a group three times a week, and I feel better than ever,” she says.
“Raising the retirement age is more suitable for my children. Im only 35, and they have a lot more time to plan how they will do.”
Per Andreas Johansen (Per Andreas Johansen) is a correspondent for Aftenposten in Moscow
