How to Defeat the Epidemic and the Crisis

Dear friends, the whole world is going through

a large-scale crisis connected with the epidemic

of the coronavirus.

And in Russia, it is being worsened by the crisis

in the economy, the drop in oil prices, and

the ruble exchange rate. In this situation, all

political forces, including the opposition,

must state their views on how

our country can cope with

the difficulties ahead. Moreover, as

President Putin likes to remind us,

the opposition must not only criticize

but also propose constructive solutions.

Yes, we may enjoy watching

someone being outrageous, yes, we may enjoy

watching someone expose someone else,

but even an ordinary citizen

wants to see not only how the authorities

are being criticized; he wants to hear and understand what

those who criticize them are actually proposing, how

they themselves intend to solve the problems

the country is facing.

I am, of course, critical of the way

the current authorities are trying

to deal with the crisis. We are being offered

measures that are delayed, half-hearted,

and indecisive. Fortunately, the epidemic

reached Russia a little later than many

other countries, and we could at least avoid

repeating the mistakes made by others. Nevertheless,

we are repeating them and adding

our own mistakes to them. Recently, we have

seen

the announcement of a non-working week—a decision

that was completely harmful. Then we were told

that in order to fight the epidemic, we needed

to introduce new taxes. Then there was

the effective announcement of a strict

quarantine in Moscow, the Moscow region, and some

other regions—a correct decision,

but legally completely unlawful and made without

a decision by the federal center.

Then in the Moscow region, the police

announced a curfew.

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And then they canceled the curfew. Then

Prime Minister Mishustin did not introduce a nationwide

quarantine, but merely recommended that the regions

study the experience. Then we were addressed by

Dmitry Medvedev (former Russian president and prime minister):

You should leave your apartment or dacha (country house) only

in cases of extreme necessity.

Use your free time productively.

Spend time with your loved ones, engage in

self-education, and take care of household chores.

Watch a movie, or simply read

books. And President Putin still has not

presented any clear action plan. For 20 years we were

told that only Vladimir

Putin should always be president

of Russia because only he could save our

country.

If trouble came—and now trouble has come—we

see complete confusion and

an unwillingness to take responsibility.

Now, as for what needs to be done: here

decisions must be made on two

fronts.

First, stop the epidemic and treat

everyone who has fallen ill. Second, we must help

people, businesses, and the economy, which are now

in a very difficult position.

As for the epidemic, no one knows with 100 percent certainty

the correct strategy for fighting the virus, but

we do see more and less successful examples and

the mistakes of others.

The task is to use the successful experience of South

Korea, Germany, Singapore, and Taiwan, and not

repeat the mistakes that, in the first stage,

China or Italy made. Not all

foreign experience is applicable here because of

underdeveloped technology or the poor state

of healthcare, but in any case we need

the introduction of

a nationwide quarantine, and it must

be regulated by law, not

exist in a legally dubious way as it does now. Then

mass testing of citizens for the corona-

virus must become a priority. We must

spend whatever money and effort is needed, but

make sure that any citizen can

within half a day of deciding to do so

quickly take a free

test and receive the results. The world already knows

how to do this, which means we can do it too.

Enough with cutting costs on medical workers.

Hospital equipment—let us write this already

in huge letters on the Kremlin walls:

immediately provide all doctors and

medical personnel with protective equipment as

the top priority,

without which everything else makes little

sense. There are no more protective suits in clinics,

there are no masks. If we are unable

to protect a doctor from infection,

then we will protect no one. On the scale of our problems, this costs next to nothing,

but for some reason

it still has not been done. Next,

medical equipment and

ventilators, above

all. What are we waiting for? Everyone knows there is

a catastrophic shortage of them.

As for ventilators and other devices, many of which

have broken compressors—in short, of which only a fraction

are actually usable right now—this means

they must be purchased immediately. Next,

the immediate suspension of certification requirements for

medicines, test systems, and medical

equipment.

This is all unnecessary bureaucracy. Anything that

is approved for use in the European Union, the United States,

Canada, Japan, and South Korea

should be allowed for use here. And finally,

we must stop lying—underreporting the number of

sick people and inflating the number of tests.

This lie makes things easier for no one and reassures

no one. On the contrary, the more the government lies,

the more likely it is

the outbreak of panic

everything about this disease must be communicated honestly

openly—police repression

methods will not help on their own. Yes, we have

a lot of police, but even that will not be enough to

force everyone into their homes, and right now we have

an excellent moment when this entire

propaganda machine of the state

media can finally do something

useful. All its power now should be

directed toward persuading people

to stay home voluntarily

to maintain social distancing and

follow basic precautions

People and the economy

We want people to stay home, but

they are forced to go to work because

they have no money. We need to give them hope

No one should be sitting there now thinking,

“I have no money, and what will my family eat

tomorrow?” And a small business owner should not

be sitting there thinking,

“I’m ruined.” People and companies paid taxes;

the state was building up reserves for a rainy

day

That rainy day has come. This money must be returned

to the people. We must honestly

say: right now we have 10

trillion rubles

in reserves—that is $123 billion—and

all of this money will be

used to help save everyone

First

Right now, in April, pay every

adult 20,000 rubles (about $245) and 10,000 rubles (about $123) per

child. If the quarantine continues, then

another 10,000 rubles (about $123) should be paid

to each person. That is what the U.S., Canada, and the UK are doing, and

we should do the same. This would not be

“helicopter money” because

it is support for the economy

What will people do? They will spend the money on

the most essential needs

and that means they will channel it into the most competitive

parts of the economy. This measure is good because

it can be implemented

very quickly: 90

percent of the population has bank accounts. No bureaucracy,

no applications. Incidentally,

the prime minister came from the tax service, and he often

boasted that everyone is in the system, so

now let everyone be given money

so they have something to live on while they stay

at home. Second

every household could save

an additional 6,000–9,000 rubles (about $74–$110) through

the cancellation of utility payments for the duration of

the quarantine

and the state, in turn, would help

utility providers survive. Third

no tax increases. Any such

plans, such as taxing bank deposits, should

be canceled. Fourth, the announced measures

to defer all types of loans

are the right step. Fifth, abolish any

taxation except personal income tax for small

businesses

at least for the next year. This is not such a

large amount of money on the scale of the state

it is only 1.5 percent of the revenues of the

consolidated budget, but for

many it would be a real chance to survive

Sixth, completely abolish all inspections,

licensing requirements, and so on for

small businesses

except by court order. Seventh

it is necessary to provide interest-free

loans to small businesses of up to 5 million rubles (about $61,000)

if business owners do not

cut jobs and do not

reduce wages

And accordingly, we would need to help

the banking system carry out this plan

Last year, banks made a record

profit of more than 2 trillion rubles (about $24.5 billion), and

the Central Bank can always provide

banks with additional support. Yes,

of course all of this is very expensive, but

after all, what is a country

and the state for, if not to make people’s lives better?

Remember: during every

crisis, we end up spending reserves almost

completely, or at least very substantially. So

now they must be spent in such a way

that help reaches every person. This

could all last

a long time—at least until summer. For

any self-isolation measures to succeed,

quarantine requires the conscious

participation of citizens and leadership from the authorities

and public figures. Of course,

in the end we will cope. Russia has always, throughout

its history, overcome difficulties

and it will overcome this as well. But on the one

hand, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking this will be

easy, and on the other hand, we should not

try to climb out of the hole at the expense of

people’s wallets—they are already empty as it is

The whole world is going through something

similar right now. Let us repeat all the good practices, learn from

others’ mistakes, and we will succeed

Stay healthy

Take care of your loved ones. Stay home