The Guardian 26 January, 2005
Russian pensioners take to streets
The New Year was not a very happy occasion for all those Russians who receive state benefits. Pensioners, invalids, Chernobyl survivors, war veterans and others came face to face with a new, "reformed" welfare system. Passed hastily into law last year it came into effect on January 1, 2005.
The main thrust of the changes was to remove all the concessions that recipients of welfare payments were entitled to and, as "compensation" from local authorities, a payment of some extra roubles.
The benefits which were withdrawn on January 1, included free public transport and free basic medicines for elderly people and invalids. Under "monetisation" (as this exercise is known) they are to receive cash payments, with only the poorest allowed to keep the across-the-board benefits under a system of means testing.
Days of nation-wide protests followed the withdrawal of benefits. Protesters took to the streets and blocked main avenues and highways in the cities and in the country.
The initial reaction from the local authorities was to threaten the protesters with fines and arrests or blame unspecified "provocateurs". In some towns militia and security forces were called in. The militia was not too eager to lay into the protesters because its members also lost free transport for travel to work.
It soon became apparent that burly security guys staring menacingly down at old grannies did not look too good on TV. Not that the old grannies looked particularly intimidated, mind you — after all, some are old enough to remember how they had taken an active part in the war, in the reconstruction of the country after the war and bringing up their children without husbands who had died during the war.
People bitterly comment on the fact that this year will see the 60th anniversary of the Victory over fascism and the thanks they are receiving from the government now.
The government seemed to be taken by surprise by the unprecedented wave of angry protests. At first nobody seemed to know what to do.
The Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted a seemingly frightened Fradkov (Russian Prime Minister) as telling his cabinet before meeting with Putin: "So what are we going to tell the president?" Izvestia wrote that "a grave silence fell" on the meeting after Fradkov's question.
As local administrations respond differently, inconsistencies and anger rises. Compare, for example, Moscow and Moscow Region. Those who live outside the ring road (which serves as the administrative city boundary) are considered to be residents of Moscow Region, with its own administration. Moscow pensioners have been re-registered and the city pays for them to retain free transport and a number of free medicines.
Since January 1, pensioners from the "wrong" side of the road have had to pay for their travel. A return trip by bus and metro costs about 50 roubles. Their travel compensation is 200 roubles a month! So instead of free travel, pensioners now receive a payment worth four days' of travel a month. No wonder they were angry and came out to block a busy highway for several hours.
The protests were so extensive, the government has had to do something. No, they did not scrap the "reform". They are just trying to stop the protests. Some travel benefits have been restored, President Putin appeared on national television to berate his government for poorly thinking through the reforms. Benefit recipients will be monitored every month by the government so as to see the impact of the reforms.
The initiators of the reforms are hinting that the Russian economy will crumble under the demands of the disadvantaged people and that inflation will rise. What they are really afraid of is that they might find themselves out of jobs — not that many of them are unprepared for this turn of events with posh properties overseas already in place — far away from the crowds of angry pensioners who brave sub-zero temperatures to protest against attacks on their livelihoods.
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is demanding the resignation of the government and the scrapping of the unfair law.