Alexander Solovev, Social movement “Basic income Russia Tomorrow”, has written several articles about what is happening in ex-USSR countries now on what measures governments are taking to protect the citizens of their countries during the coronavirus pandemic. These articles have already been published in Russia and Ukraine. Irina Soloveva has provided English translations.
For the most recent news from Russia, see the third article and its translation
The articles can be found here:
1) https://ubiru.org/2020/04/21/ot-kommunizma-do-garantirovannogo-osnovnogo-dohoda/ (in Russian)
https://ubiua.com/2020/04/21/vid-komunizmu-do-garantovanogo-osnovnogo-dohodu/ (in Ukrainian)
2) https://ubiru.org/2020/04/14/ispytanie-koronavirusom-covid19/ (in Russian)
3) https://ubiru.org/2020/05/17/osnovnoy-dohod-v-rossii-vy-serezno/ (in Russian)
An English translation of the first article can be found here, of the second article here, and of the third article here (translations by Irina Soloveva).
Some thoughts on Russian capitalism. In the 1990’s collapse and smash and grab for assets, there emerged gangster capitalism and ended with the greatest gangster becoming the leader.. The term capitalism covers a multitude of sins.
Russia has ended up with a version of capitalism as close to capitalism as the Soviet Union was close to communism:, that is, a long way off it.
I love Russia. One thing as the Soviet Union, there was a degree of security, everyone was guaranteed a job, even if it was as a lift attendant, ascending and descending all day with no visible function for no apparent reason. The joke was::they pretend to pay, we pretend to work.
But there were very good aspects, health services and education, for instance.
Given that basic security in the past, I hope the idea of UBI will resonate particularly strongly in Russia, and become a rallying cry for progress.
Dear Bernard, i absolutely agree with you, you are well informed! I was born and lived in the USSR. There was considerable inequality in society, but there were much more opportunities. Inequality is much deeper today; most countries have authoritarian regimes. We published a new article on this at ubiru.org. You are welcome!
I have just read the latest very well detailed post by Irina Solveva, outlining the latest situation in Russia. It is a desperate situation. I understand why people will compare the Russian government’s lack of response to the crisis to that of better Western versions.
But, and it is a big but, no government has proposed anything to seriously address the economic situation. They are all lost. Solutions have to be international, and most governments are trying to claim that they are doing better than others, all such claims being irrelevant in a totally interlinked world economy. Nationalism is almost all-pervasive, when it needs to be abandoned fast.
Huge state expenditure has to made to start economic revival, and this is anathema to all orthodox thinking. WHERE’S THE PROFIT?
A good permanent Basic Income scheme could be a good starting point. But a chilling thought occurs. The world economic slump of the 1930’s was only pulled back to life by American war expenditure.
Sorry if this is too pessimistic, but it should be a stimulus for much-needed activity.