After every one of Putin’s call-in shows, where he rattles off numbers while answering pre-prepared questions, there is inevitably a video or article breaking down how many times Putin lied, which figures he distorted, and how many facts he twisted.
And so after the meeting with gifted schoolchildren (and we all know why Putin has suddenly taken such an interest in schoolchildren and students), I couldn’t hold back either, because the episode with the girl Anastasia really struck a nerve.
She asked about the country’s development prospects in a situation where the number of state-funded university places is shrinking. What she got in return was a faceful of lies. She tried to push back by citing statistics—to her credit—but was silenced again by confident, forceful lying. She sat back down, deeply embarrassed.
I really want to stand up for Anastasia, the girl from the school for young talents.
Because when preparing her question, she almost certainly looked at the same places any of us can easily check: the websites of Rosstat (Russia’s federal statistics agency) and the Education Ministry.
Even by their own official statistics (although the Education Ministry’s figures are contradicted by the Higher School of Economics in a study conducted under the ministry’s own auspices!), we can see that Vladimir Putin’s 17 years in power have unquestionably been marked by a reduction in the number of state-funded places for newly admitted students.
And it is even more depressing to look at the decline in the total number of state-funded places for students overall (including upper-year students):
Once again: these are the Education Ministry’s dubious, triumphalist statistics. If we tried to build charts using independent data, they would support Anastasia’s case much more strongly.
Yes, of course, the number of students is heavily affected by demographics. But if you listen to Putin, Russia’s demographic situation is wonderful and childbirth is breaking records. He repeats this in every annual presidential address and at every call-in show. And it is a direct lie.
The generation born during the Soviet baby boom simply had their second children—that’s all. So-called Putin-era stability has nothing to do with the birth of these children. Soon the demographic data will look more and more nightmarish with each passing year. In fact, they already do.
But President Putin piles one lie on top of another. In his version, demographics are excellent and the number of state-funded places is growing. These lies replace any meaningful discussion of education policy, the main question of which is captured by these charts:
Why is spending on education falling both as a share of GDP and in absolute terms?
2013 — 661 billion rubles
Planned for 2019 — 458 billion rubles.
And that does not even take inflation into account. A ruble in 2013 and a ruble in 2019 are effectively two very different currencies.
Maybe we should give fewer state contracts to the Rotenbergs (the billionaire brothers close to Putin), and then there would be more left for education?
Perhaps Anastasia, the girl from the school for talented children, could have asked that question too—but she was told to sit down and the microphone was taken away from her.
Help spreading the video would be greatly appreciated.
All links to the statistics on state-funded places are below:
the number of state-funded places for first-year students and for all students up to 2014 and from 2015 onward;
for 2016–2017, first-year students only;
for 2016, all students.