The Finance Ministry halted domestic government bond auctions after weak investor demand, as soaring budget deficits, elevated borrowing costs, and uncertainty over the central bank’s next policy decision expose mounting pressure on Russia’s wartime finances.
I just get the feeling that Russia is unravelling rather quickly, and not just financially. There is now an experiment of ‘forced conscription’ in the Penza region of Russia. People are being snatched off the streets, press gang style. Factories/universities are being given quotas to fill. It’s not going down too well:
i get the feeling that something is going to ‘blow’ in Russia.
Remember that Russia has been invaded repeatedly and lost 24 million people during the “Great Patriotic War” (World War 2). They take military service seriously.
Russia has mandatory active military service (conscription) for young men, alongside a system of initial registration.
There’s a lot of info online. The government can notify men online and they’d better show up for service. Employers are required by law to check military status before hiring a man aged 18–30. Digital notices automatically trigger restrictions (e.g., travel bans, vehicle operation bans, and restrictions on real estate transactions) if a person fails to report when summoned.
Because of social push-back the government is more likely to call men in digitally than to Shanghai them in the streets.
The leaders NEVER, EVER care about how the people feel! They never have and probably never will. It’s a miracle that anyone is still alive there, considering how they have been mistreated.
We did a tour of Russia in 2017 and I’ve always had a soft spot for the people there ever since. They were very nice and I feel sorry for them now. I can’t see the war ending well for them whatever the outcome.
I was told quite a few times how the average Russian’s living stand had risen under Putin, all going into reverse now:
Russians have enjoyed a dramatic increase in living standards over the course of President Vladimir Putin’s nearly 24 years at the helm of Russian politics. On Friday, Putin said he would run for the presidency.
