Support The Moscow Times!

Russia's Putin Tightens Belt for Another Year With 10% Pay Cut

Putin officially earned 7.6 million rubles in 2014 ($114,000, at current exchange rates). Sergei Porter / Vedomosti

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to share the pain of his recession-struck citizens by cutting his salary next year by 10 percent.

A decree curbing by one-tenth the pay of Putin and a cabal of top officials including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Prosecutor General Yury Chaika and Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin was signed by the president on Dec. 2 and published on the state's regulation website on Wednesday.

It extends a previous order curtailing 2015 earnings that was signed earlier this year, soon after a rapid currency devaluation and oil price fall, as well as sanctions connected to the Ukraine crisis, catapulted Russia into a deep economic slump. Output is set to shrink 4 percent this year, and average wages have declined by more than 10 percent in real terms over the past 12 months.

Putin officially earned 7.6 million rubles in 2014 ($114,000, at current exchange rates), while Medvedev made just over 8 million rubles ($120,000) — around 20 times Russian average annual earnings.

But in a country where political power has often turned to wealth, many doubt such relatively low figures. For example, anti-corruption blogger and opposition politician Alexei Navalny this week published a detailed investigation into the fabulous wealth and villas accumulated by the family of Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, one of those whose official salaries next year will be cut.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more