Alex Christoforou
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Russia reported its 4th straight record batch of new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday…
As Russian lawmakers and the government led by Vladimir Putin, who has taken a step back and is allowing his prime minister and other government officials to lead the response, plot to offer assistance to small businesses in and around Moscow, and elsewhere, members of the opposition warned Moscow’s mayor that “mass starvation” might ensue if the government fails to rescue small businesses.
According to the Moscow Times, the leader of the Russian Communist Party in Moscow’s Duma warned that unemployment could more than triple resulting in as many as 8 million adult Russians out of work. If that happens, and Muscovites aren’t provided with enough money or food, people will starve, as President Putin’s “Non-Working Month” wreaks havoc on the Russian economy.
The letter was provided to one of Moscow’s largest business publications, which published it first.
“Failure to take [support] measures in the coming months may lead to mass starvation…In the event of spontaneous unsanctioned protests attended by several thousand residents, all responsibility will fall on Moscow’s executive authority,” said party leader Nikolai Zubrilin.
Among other steps, the opposition reportedly suggested that the city dole out 20,000 rubles ($250) to all Muscovites to help pay all of their utility bills and groceries for the year out of the city budget and suspend loan payments until Dec. 31. To finance these expenses, the Communists want to reduce spending on Moscow’s sprawling renovation program, metro construction and other “non-essential” city construction projects.
The Communist Party’s letter comes after another opposition party, Yabloko, proposed to reroute 300 billion rubles ($3.8 billion) of the city’s infrastructure and entertainment budget toward aid for small businesses and workers.
About one-third of Russian companies have forced workers to take leave without pay since the beginning of Putin’s “non-working” period, which began late last month.
Russia reported a record batch of new cases for the fourth day in a row on Wednesday, with 3,388 new cases, bringing the total to 24,490 cases in total. Confirmations continue to accelerate despite the fact that the country has been on lockdown for two weeks. Putin was one of the first world leaders to resort to travel bans, but like Trump, his government did little to prepare for the coming onslaught in late February and early March.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Bad times, very bad times ahead!
Lol, you are the worst… just join these “commies”, Olivia
They are speaking the truth, whether you like it or not is your personal opinion.
It seems a lot of Westerners (like you perhaps) are still under the spell of a Red Romance… eh, Olivia?
I have Russian roots and live in Moscow. I see what is happening, this is a realistic view of things how they are – in contrast to you Westerners having strange phantasies about Russia.
THE MOSCOW TIMES: Russian Bankruptcy Cases Jump 70% — Experts say a simplified legal procedure is behind the sharp rise, and the coronavirus crisis is set to compound the issue. — April 7, 2020 The Russian government has introduced a six-month moratorium on some bankruptcy cases. But experts expect new filings to rise as a result of the coronavirus crisis.Stanislav Krasilnikov / TASS Bankruptcy filings in Russia shot up in the first three months of the year, as experts warn millions of Russians are set to fall behind on their loans and mortgages as the coronavirus crisis continues. The number… Read more »
could… is the magic word. People who file for personal bankruptcy usually do so because they are poor money managers, in others words they ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ spend more than they take in, often using credit, aka money they don’t have, to buy things they don’t need (but want). Then they don’t want to pay their debt. After bankruptcy they are free and clear in the few years. Bankruptcy does not necessarily equal poverty. It means being forced to live within your means for once. So yes, not being allowed to just write off your debt is a good thing for society.… Read more »
This is theory. In practise I see how small businesses in Moscow are struggling to get by. I know a young couple who own two small hotels in the centre of Moscow, with 40 rooms each. They are just keeping their heads over water, so they won’t go under and have to declare bankruptcy, during these harsh times of the Coronavirus shutdown. They still have guests, but they give huge discounts. All personnel except two persons has been laid off. And this is just one example. There is a wide gap between theory and reality, Clarity!
There is indeed such a gap, and you are smack in the middle of it. Neither here nor there. The world does not consist of the few acquaintances we have. Hardship and tightening the belt also does not equal bankruptcy, nor does bankruptcy equal poverty. New failures always open up new possibilities. This is the wrong time to play possum and also the wrong time to cry after lost first world luxuries. The reality is that well over 60% of the workforce are not affected at all. Including Russia. The majority of the rest will resume business as usual. It… Read more »
I suppose you never owned a business. You really do not know what you are writing about. It is all bleak theory.
Communists are the “original” alarmists, after all. And we can see that even today they seem to have a lot of Westerners under their charismatic spell. But perhaps the “lessons of history” are really only for those who must tragically undergo them…
A lot of strange blabbing here. “Alarmists”? “Charismatic spell”? “Tragically undergo”? What a lot of nonsense in this wordy, yet empty message.
THE MOSCOW TIMES: Moscow’s Small Businesses Feel the Pinch Under Coronavirus Lockdown — By Daniil Galaydov — Updated: April 2, 2020 Small business owners fear that government measures to reduce the impact of the coronavirus on their bottom line won’t save them from going under.Aleksander Avilov / Moskva News Agency — Moscow’s small businesses have temporarily shuttered their doors as the city cracks down on the coronavirus pandemic — but many owners fear that they won’t be able to bounce back once the health crisis is over. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin imposed an indefinite partial lockdown starting Monday to slow the… Read more »
essential services will survive, what we are seeing are a lot of businesses fearing for their existence, because essentially they are luxury goods and services. The majority of people have lead a very luxurious life up to corona. And had zero appreciation for it.
Then of course are all those who constantly complain about excessive consumerism. Well, some of that is going to be curbed a bit. Should be a good thing, welcomed. But no. There is just no pleasing people.
How do you qualify “essential”? Here in Moscow, I can still buy food and toilet paper. I could also buy medicine, if I needed it, but thank God I am healthy and do not need it. All the rest of services have shut down. The busses and tramways are still running. I could sit on a bus, with my face mask and gloves on, and could tour Moscow on the circle line day and night. But what for? The city is empty. It is a ghost city now.
Read your own news, over 60% of Russian the workforce is not affected at all. I qualify, actually define, essential services like the rest of the world does. Most business are still open, or at least operational. Many businesses you are not even aware of. Not every business has walk in customers. In my neighborhood all the medical professionals are still open, all pharmacies, all drug stores, all bakeries, etc. Restaurants are open for take out. Gas stations, offices, farms, food processing, logistics, open. What is not open are big department stores and smaller shops, the latter is helped with… Read more »
Rubbish! About 90 percent of the workforce in Moscow is affected, and Moscow is the heart of Russia. You do not live in Russia, do you? Long distance conjecture at its worst. Si tacuisses. Don’t make a complete fool of yourself.
THE MOSCOW TIMES: Living Standards To be Main Victim of Coronavirus Economic Shock — Real incomes forecast to fall faster than the wider economy, heaping strain on Russian households. April 7, 2020 Businesses have already started laying off workers, cutting hours and wages. Sergei Kiselyov / Moskva News Agency — Russian living standards will this year see their biggest drop since the financial crisis, a new economic forecast has warned. Real cash incomes could crash by as much as 5% in 2020, analysis by the Analytical Credit Ratings Agency and Alfa Bank has found. That would be a steeper fall… Read more »
THE MOSCOW TIMES: Russia Sees Sharp Drop in Spending as National Coronavirus Lockdown Continues — Bank data shows spending is down by as much as a third in big demand hit to Russian economy. — April 8, 2020 Spending has dropped sharply as Russians stay home as part of national efforts to stem the coronavirus pandemic.Yegor Aleyev / TASS — Russians have cut back their spending by as much as one-third as the country remains in a month-long national shutdown which has seen half the economy switch off and major cities including Moscow go into mandatory quarantine. Early data from… Read more »
Like the communist party don’t have a clear agenda and incentive to feed western Ruscophobia Media with a heavily distorted account. One thing Putin is trying to avoid is the inevitable recession that the west is funding with ether-money. At the end of the day I suspect Russia will come out of this much better than most and certainly better than the US. Disappointed that the Duran have fallen for this line.
I have been living in Moscow for the past two months and can see that the Russian Communists’ prediction could be right. Lots of poor people are stranded in the streets. Most businesses are closed, and business owners fear they will go bunkrupt.
You are a BS artist
Why are you name calling me? Everybody is entitled to his or her own opinion. The Duran does not censure opinions. It is a free and democratic website, while you are a low-life person with little or no intellect, alas.
2 months? Spoken to any of those that lived in Russia during the 90s and checked out how they compare what life was like then, to what it is like now?
None of these strange blabbers here is either living in Russia or has spoken to any Russians living in Russia. Just a lot of trolls, sent by the CIA to interfere …
Yes, I speak to Russians in the Russian language on a regular basis, since I have family in Russia. Most of those I speak with were born in the 1940s and 1950s and 1960s. They knew life in the Soviet Union and they know life in the Russian Federation. They say that the living standard now is higher than it was in the last century. But they are afraid of what is coming, due to the Coronavirus lockdown. Moscow looks like a ghost town. Shops, hotels, businesses are closed. The state Airline Aeroflot is losing millions and is afraid of… Read more »
every western city looks like this . Every country is struggling. So are their companies. Get out of your bubble. There was too much of everything, this is the correction that has been needed for a long time. Although my prediction is that it will not be enough of a correction and things will be back to normal in no time, plus the usual war because the west needs money.
I am in no bubble. I am in Moscow. This article is about the Communist Party and their predictions about the Russian economy. I am writing to the point, while you are sitting in your bubble full of bleak theory. Get real! And stay on the topic: RUSSIA – MOSCOW – COMMUNIST PARTY – PREDICTIONS FOR RUSSIA! This is our guideline …
Why does the Russian Communist Party follow the $oro$/NED script?
Didn’t the leader of the Russian Communist Party hold $millions in Switzerland, back when he was looking for Presidential votes?
The leader of the Russian Communist Party is Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov (Генна́дий Андре́евич Зюга́нов; born 26 June 1944). He has been the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation since 1993. He has been Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP-CPSU) since 2001, a deputy in the State Duma since 1993, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 1996. Zyuganov ran for President of Russia four times, most notably in 1996, when he lost in the second round to incumbent Boris Yeltsin. He does… Read more »
your attention to detail is lacking, bank account of leader of the party was mentioned.
Since Zyuganov has been in power for such a long time one has to ponder if terms for party leaders should be limited like those for presidents. You know, if you are a guy is not wanted 4 times, perhaps it’s time to get the message and make room for a new generation. Stability is one thing, leadership on life support quite another.
Russia does as Russia wants. Your advice is neither solicited nor needed. Thanks, but no thanks!
and you are not Russia, you are welcome.
btw, thanks for confirming what I wrote:
Russia does (not vote Zyuganov into power) as Russia wants (anybody but Zyuganov).
It was not advice.
Making your comment obsolete.
Rubbish!
MEDUZA: ‘GOD, may You keep RUSSIA and the President!’ Two hundred patriotic highway ads from a ‘Slavic’ real estate company have flooded Moscow and the suburbs — 6:09 pm, April 17, 2020 — Source: Meduza — Residents of Moscow and its suburbs woke up this week to a massive ad that features billboards like “RUSSIA’s TIME has come as the SAFEST PLACE on Earth,” “GOD, may You keep RUSSIA and the President!” and “The RUSSIANS are COMING—goodbye, Hollywood!” The latter slogan rhymes in Russian. The ads are spread throughout the Moscow area’s major highways, with about 200 bright orange billboards… Read more »