U.S. billionaire philanthropist George Soros has predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime will face bankruptcy in 2017, when the nation's economic troubles erode its leader's domestic approval ratings, according to a column Soros published this week.
“Putin’s popularity, which remains high, rests on a social compact requiring the government to deliver financial stability and a slowly but steadily rising standard of living,” Soros wrote in his column on the Project Syndicate website on Wednesday. ?€?Western sanctions, coupled with the sharp decline in the price of oil, will force the regime to fail on both counts.?€?
Russia's social security programs are running out of money, and the nation's budget deficit stands at 7 percent of GDP, Soros wrote. Unless the government brings the deficit to 3 percent, inflation may spiral ?€?out of control,?€? he said.
?€?These and other developments will have a negative effect on living standards and opinions of the electorate before the parliamentary election in the fall,?€? he said.
A series of protest demonstrations have flared up around Russia in recent months against soaring bills and declining living standards.