The model of "state capitalism" built in Russia by Vladimir Putin has failed. Already next year, the Russian state will be left without money. Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska stated this at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, writes The Moscow Times.
In the past, an oligarch very close to Putin, today he expressed confidence that the situation in the Russian economy is "very difficult."
“State capitalism is a road to nowhere. I watch with horror the resources that were spent last year, obviously wasted. I used to think it was billions, but now, I see, the bill is already in the trillions,†Deripaska said.
The oligarch is confident that the plans announced by the Kremlin to transfer the Russian economy to a military footing with the priority of state planning and state control are doomed to a fiasco. Especially in the context of Russia's growing isolation from the rest of the world.
According to Deripaska, plans to transfer the economy to the rails of state planning and state control are doomed to failure, as well as an attempt to live in isolation from the world.
"There will be no money next year. We will need foreign investors," he said.
In 2023, the government increased spending on the police, the Russian Guard and special services by 1.5 times, and if we consider the army, it spends every third ruble of the federal budget on security forces.
This is a "serious burden on the economy," Deripaska said: the number of officials should be reduced by 2-3 times, and the number of law enforcement officers - "a couple of times."
In the past, Oleg Deripaska was considered one of the most influential Russian oligarchs close to Putin. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, he immediately fell under Western sanctions, along with other associates of the Russian dictator.
