I’ve wanted to speak out on this for a very long time, and I kept thinking about how not just to speak out, but to propose something concrete.
I’ve come up with a specific proposal, and I’m asking for your support.
Putin and United Russia do a lot of vile and despicable things. But one of the most disgusting—something that personally outrages me to the core—is the way they exploit the image of victory and of veterans for their own political purposes.
There’s a reason people joke that Putin’s greatest achievement is victory in the Great Patriotic War (the Soviet-German front of World War II). Whenever the authorities need to do something rotten or steal something, they immediately wrap themselves in St. George ribbons, put some unfortunate old man in front of them as a prop, and suddenly everything seems sanctified by the great victory.
Look at how Putin’s term reset has been staged. First, they deliberately hold a parade in June and throw away billions on it; the very next day, the seven-day vote begins; and then in July there will be the Immortal Regiment march, with our vile old man leading it—now in the status of president for life.
For the 75th anniversary of victory, Putin gave the whole country himself as a gift: the removal of any limits on his rule.
Why should this fraudulent sham vote be dressed up, like tinsel, with victory celebrations and the symbols of victory?
Did anyone fight for Putin? Did anyone die so that 20 years in power wouldn’t be enough for him and he’d need more?
What does United Russia as a whole have to do with our victory 75 years ago? They even stole the Immortal Regiment. It was created by journalists in Tomsk, and Putin and United Russia appropriated it and now use it for self-promotion. And, by the way, those journalists’ TV channel was shut down because of censorship.
Putin crams veterans into every speech—whether it fits or not—but let’s try a little experiment. What word comes to mind when you hear the phrase “the life of a war veteran”?
Ninety-nine percent of you just said to yourselves: “destitute.” Or “poor.” Or “miserable.”
Everyone in Russia knows that war veterans are elderly people with medals, that everyone congratulates them on May 9 (Victory Day), and that they live in poverty.
And they won the war. They bore the harshest share of the suffering. Yet they receive from our government—which, let me remind you, is wrapped head to toe in St. George ribbons—less than both our allies and our enemies in that war.
Here, war veterans receive from 35,000 to 43,000 rubles in pension payments.
In the United States, they receive from 188,000 to 431,000 rubles a month. In France, 99,000. In the United Kingdom, from 139,000 to 626,000 rubles depending on service.
Those are the allies. But what about the defeated countries?
Finland: 158,000 a month. Japan: from 80,000 to 470,000 rubles a month. And finally, Germany pays Wehrmacht veterans from 111,000 to 626,000 rubles a month.
That is what it means to respect veterans: to ensure them a dignified life, not use them as extras during a parade where they stand next to Putin’s ministers, each of whom is a billionaire.
I have an appeal and a specific proposal for Vladimir Putin, and I ask all of you to support it and spread it if you agree.
Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, if the participants in the war are truly as dear to you as you constantly say they are, then let’s give them a real gift for the 75th anniversary of victory.
I’ve written a very short draft law for you. Its essence is simple: a victorious soldier should receive a pension no smaller than those he defeated.
The pension of a junior Wehrmacht officer is 2,700 dollars, or 188,000 rubles. So let our veterans live out the rest of their lives knowing that the state, the government, and the people value them enough to pay them a truly good pension.
I know what your answer will be. We have a great many veterans—right now, 537,000 people are receiving veteran payments. And it’s supposedly unrealistic to pay such a large pension to all of them. But that’s deceptive. There are very few actual war participants left—just 75,000, according to your own government’s estimates. And every year there are fewer of them. Soon, sadly, they will all be gone. So my proposal—to raise payments for those who actually fought to 200,000 rubles—would not be such a burden on the budget. You hand out large sums to your friends every year. This is, in many ways, a symbolic gesture. But it is one that must be made.
You’ll climb up onto the mausoleum again at the parade and talk about a feat that can never be forgotten. About our most important “spiritual bond” (a common Russian political slogan about traditional values). About how we would not exist without this victory. All of that is true. So perhaps our spiritual bond should be a law stating that our victorious soldier must receive no less than those he defeated?
There is one week left until the Victory Parade. That is enough time to pass this draft law, or at least to declare support for it. I am sending it to all faction leaders in the State Duma, and especially to United Russia, since its adoption depends on them and on Putin. I am sending this draft law to him as well.
But of course they’ll pretend they know nothing, heard nothing. What pension increase? Who proposed an increase?
I need your help to make sure everyone knows about my proposal, so that those who profit politically from veterans cannot wriggle out of it. I have created a petition in support of the draft law. The link is in the description. Please support it with your signature, and ask your friends to sign as well.
Share this video. And most importantly, always and everywhere ask every United Russia member, every official, every governor—in short, every Putin loyalist who dares to say anything about veterans: how did you vote on this issue? Did you support a dignified pension for the victorious soldier?
Take part in this campaign. It will be the best and most honest contribution to commemorating the 75th anniversary of victory: the fight for a dignified life for the victorious soldier.