Rising costs of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Putin cuts funding for Chechen leader Kadyrov

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Chechnya must prepare for difficult times. The Russian Finance Ministry is struggling with the rising costs of the war against Ukraine. In order to continue financing the invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin (71) is making cuts in four Russian regions and the annexed areas in Ukraine, including the republic in the North Caucasus. They must reduce their budget deficit or prepare for the end of certain subsidies.

Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov (47) is considered an extremely loyal follower of Putin. It is not without reason that he is nicknamed ‘Putin’s Bloodhound’, because he sent his own fighters to Ukraine to support the Russian campaign.

Russia switches to a war economy

However, the fact that his region now has to tighten its belt could lead the Chechen leader to reconsider his loyalty to Putin. In January 2022, Kadyrov said that Russian donations to the predominantly Muslim republic he leads totaled 300 billion rubles (about 3 billion francs) a year. And without her? “I swear by Almighty Allah that we will not last three months – not even a month,” Kadyrov said at the time.

Russia is at risk of missing its 2024 sales target due to skyrocketing military costs and the impact of Western sanctions. The Russian Finance Ministry has been adjusting its budget throughout the year, with a focus on supporting the military-industrial complex in its war efforts.

Putin cuts funding for annexed areas

Other regions that have been ordered to narrow the gap between spending and revenue or face cuts in subsidies include Ingushetia and Dagestan in the Caucasus, and Tuva in southern Siberia, where many troops were stationed before the war . It also mentions the areas in Ukraine that Putin said in September 2022 had been annexed: the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia oblasts, which are currently not fully controlled by Moscow.

The Finance Ministry told Kommersant newspaper that the eight regions were targeted because, despite their high share of Kremlin subsidies, they had overspent by 40 percent in two of the past three years. Kommersant wrote that it was uncertain whether “such ‘heavyweights’ as the heads of state and government of Chechnya and Dagestan could easily be forced to comply with these demands.”

“The time of making easy money is over”

“Several regions have always taken the position that they are of particular political importance, such as Dagestan and Chechnya, and have relied on the Kremlin to block any criticism or measures to cut subsidies from the government,” analyzes economist Chris Weafer, head of the strategic department. consulting firm Macro-Advisory Ltd., for “Newsweek.” But that’s clearly over now.

Several Russian media reported that the governors of the eight regions had until December 18 to sign spending promises. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is now taking every opportunity for budget discipline in all areas, Weafer said. “The days of making easy money are over,” he summarizes. (no)

Source: Blick