Cash handouts before election

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has ordered that pensioners receive $135 (R2 031) in a bid to drum up support ahead of parliamentary elections next month that could see the unpopular ruling party, United Russia, struggle.

The cash handouts come as part of a litany of social spending sweeteners Putin has proposed ahead of September’s lower house State Duma polls, with United Russia’s ratings dented by rising prices and falling wages.

A Kremlin statement said the oneoff payment of 10 000 rubles ($135) will be handed out in September, doubling the monthly state pension.

In a meeting with United Russia officials on Sunday, Putin said pensioners had been hit hardest by this year’s soaring inflation (6.5%).

Putin also proposed giving 15 000ruble bonuses to military staff.

Russia’s economy has been stagnating, battered by Western sanctions after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.

Ahead of the elections, United Russia is polling around 30% – a 10-point drop from the last lower house elections in 2016.