Wall Street Journal columnist and historian Amy Knight has drawn attention to signs of growing discontent among the Russian political and business elite due to the militarization of the economy. This is evidenced by increasingly frank public statements from individuals within the Kremlin's inner circle.
This was reported by Glavcom citing Wall Street Journal, according to the portal PromPolitInform.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recently supported the decision to remove the anti-war Yabloko party from the State Duma elections in September. The Russian leadership is attempting to avoid drawing extra attention to the growing anxiety among citizens.
The loudest signal of discontent was the recent dismissal of VEB.RF Chief Economist Andrei Klepach. His May report featuring a pessimistic GDP growth forecast and an acknowledgement that Russia is losing to Ukraine circulated widely in the media.
Discontent among the elites did not disappear following the dismissal, with several participants of the May discussion congratulating the economist. VEB Head Igor Shuvalov spoke out against full economic militarization at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in June, stating that technological leadership relies on freedom rather than total state control.
Russian business and political figures speak out against the war economy
Sberbank CEO German Gref stated during a shareholders meeting that month that everyone in the country is concerned only with the earliest possible end to hostilities. The sharpest remark came from Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, who is often called a potential successor to Putin.
«To destroy normal life and the economy means to destroy the country itself», Sobyanin stated.
The FSB regularly detains and imprisons ordinary Russians for minor displays of anti-war sentiment. However, applying similar pressure to high-ranking individuals close to the Kremlin may backfire and only intensify discontent within the elites, according to the columnist.
Illustrative photo: Alexey Nikolsky / Government.ru / CC BY 4.0
