The lack of personnel in the Ukraine War not only affects the Ukrainian army, smaller than the Russian, but also Russia itself. In this sense, the Putin government has announced that it will carry out new measures such as the introduction of veterans in the conflict, its promotion to positions of relevance in the government or the increase in its benefits associated with its functions.
These initiatives could not only favor Russia in a matter of numbers, but also the creation of a new middle class. In addition, Putin would be more facilitated to expel those who do not convince him. It should be noted that it is not the first time that veterans play an important role in a conflict in the country, because after World War II, millions of veterans were benefited by policies, often temporary, which granted them better conditions in terms of education and employment. This not only ended up giving good results, because it also helped to stay from the government.
However, when this tactic has not been carried out, the opposite occurs. Show this are the experiences of AFGANTSY (Veterans of the Soviet war in Afghanistan), which demonstrated how the lack of benefits can encourage the creation of a aggrieved class. In fact, despite the fact that 600,000 soldiers participated and that 15,000 of them died, the few benefits they received and the bad conditions they suffered led them to be considered as “a symbolic and physical source of destabilization”, as the diary .
In this sense, the Kremlin, a great connoisseur of these two historical moments and with the intention of increasing recruitment, decided to expand the benefits of veterans in the conflict he maintains with Ukraine. Some of them are cash payments, free land, preferential fiscal status, favorable loans or priority in access to medical care.
A new middle class
These conditions will favor the creation of a new middle class, since thousands of men will be rewarded, along with their families, with advantages that the rest of the population will not reach. A situation similar to the one that shook the United States after the end of World War II with the GI Law. According to current reports cited by warontherocks, It is estimated that between 160,000 and 220,000 Russian soldiers have lost their lives in combat, which complicates the mission of recruiting new soldiers.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the salary they receive has increased to exceed three times the average national salary. “If these proportions were transferred to the United States, a Raso soldier would receive around $ 120,000 a year, along with a minimum bonus to sign $ 20,000 in cash,” says the medium. The main areas that have been benefited have been the poor, which is where the economic boom has been greater, where the military has resorted to the labor.
In turn, these conditions will help the loyalty of veteran soldiers to Kremlin shoot, which also suits Putin, because very few will want to lose the status they have worked thanks to their participation in the conflict.
“Heroes Times”
It should be able to They postulated in the first 24 hours. Some of them are already in their new functions, such as the interim governor of the Tambov region or the special envoy to the Federal District of the Urals.
