Putin U-turn after pension protests hit his poll ratings
The Russian president went on TV to announce he was backtracking on controversial reforms
VLADIMIR PUTIN backtracked on his pension reforms yesterday after an outcry that even hit his personal approval ratings.
The Russian president toned down the controversial proposals, which included a rise in the pension age for both men and women, in a special televised address to the nation yesterday.
He announced that women would be able to retire and claim their pensions at 60 instead of 63, as had originally been proposed. The new age is still a leap from the current age of 55.
Mr Putin also outlined several other concessions on the reform, although the changes to the retirement age for men, which will go from 60 to 65 in the new proposals, were unaltered.
In a rare U-turn, he told the nation demographic changes made reform of the pension system inevitable or it would “crack and collapse”.
He said: “For years I was cautious and even suspicious about proposals to change the pension system.
“But the trends that we’re seeing … objective analysis of the situation show that we can’t put it off any longer.
“However, our decisions must be fair, balanced and take interests of the people into account.”
The pension reforms were first announced by Dmitry Medvedev, the prime minister, in June, on the day the World Cup kicked off in Russia.
The move elicited criticism that the Kremlin was trying to bury bad news.
In July, protests erupted all over the country, with opposition politicians and ordinary people voicing their discontent with the change.
Critics argued that hundreds of thousands of people would not live long enough to see their pensions, or much of them. The average life expectancies in Russia are 66.5 for men and 76.9 for women, according to the World Bank.
Despite the cabinet being at the forefront of the reform and the Kremlin distancing itself, pollsters reported Mr Putin’s approvals dropping to 67 per cent in July.
It was his lowest rating since January 2014, although it soared quickly at that point to 88 per cent following the annexation of Crimea.
The president first commented on the reforms only in late July, saying he “didn’t like” either of the options discussed by the Russian parliament.
In his address, Mr Putin announced that the government would be keeping many existing social benefits for pensioners in place.
He said mothers of three or more children would be allowed to retire earlier – aged between 50 and 57, depending on the number of children they had.
He also proposed prosecuting employers for firing people within the five years before their retirement age, and doubling unemployment benefits for people of “pre-pension” age.
According to Anton Siluanov, the Russian finance minister, the measures announced by Mr Putin will cost the country an extra 500 billion roubles (£5.6billion) over the next six years.