Coronavirus has severely damaged the economies of many countries, and Russia is not an exception. Almost all areas of life are being affected by COVID-19. What is the Russian government doing to minimize the economic losses (экономи́ческие поте́ри) of its citizens?

Image by Jernej Furman Flickr

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Центра́льный банк Росси́йской Федера́ции), and the report of the European Commission, the budget deficit (дефици́т бюдже́та) of the Russian Federation is expected to be approximately 5 – 6% GDP (ВВП) in 2020.

There is no secret that Russia is significantly oil-dependent and needs to get off its oil needle (нефтяна́я игла́), as Russians call it. The fall in oil prices (це́ны на не́фть) has led to the collapse of the ruble (to about 73 rubles per dollar to date). The anti-epidemic restrictions have led to a decrease in domestic demand (спрос) for goods and services. Thus, Russia has now received a double blow to its economy (эконо́мика).

Food and drug prices (це́ны на проду́кты и лека́рства) have risen sharply; the pace of construction (те́мп строи́тельства) has significantly slowed down; many small companies have gone bankrupt (обанкро́тились) due to lack of demand; banks could not complete some international transactions; many families have lost their income (дохо́д) and unable to pay their mortgages (ипоте́чные креди́ты). How is the Russian government preventing its people from losing hope?

Image by Paul Arps Flickr

Last week, Russian President Putin held a meeting on implementing the adopted measures on supporting the economy and social sphere via a teleconference, where he listened to the reports from the Labour and Social Protection Minister, Minister of Health, Minister of Economic Development, Minister of  Finance, the Central Bank Governor, and others.

To date, the following economic measures have been taken to support Russian citizens:

• Unemployment benefits (посо́бие по безрабо́тице) up to the maximum amount of the living wage (разме́р прожи́точного ми́нимума) – 12,130 rubles after the increase; additionally, 3,000 rubles per child, if an employee was laid off (был уво́лен) after March 1, 2020.
• Tax relief (налого́вая льго́та) for taxpayers (налогоплате́льщики) up to to six months in case of an earnings’ (за́работки) decrease by 30% or more.
• Benefits for Children (вы́платы на де́тей) of 50% of the regional living wage for children ages 3-7 years old, 5,000 rubles for children under the age of 3.
• Reduced mortgage interest rate (проце́нтная ста́вка по ипоте́ке) of 6.5% for the entire loan term when buying a brand new apartment.
• Temporary disability (вре́менная нетрудоспосо́бность) benefit amount of not less than the minimum wage paid.
• Hazard pay (надба́вка за риск) program for frontline health care workers, including extra payments for doctors (80,000 rubles per month), nurses (50,000 rubles per month), junior medical staff (25,000 rubles per month), etc.

The Russian government will likely to continue to develop new support measures amid this pandemic.

For the latest information about the Economic measures, please visit the official website of the government of the Russian Federation.

Watch The Meeting on implementing measures to support the economy and the social sphere: