Putin promises
benefit increases
following protest
BY VLADIMIR 1SACHENKOV
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOSCOW — President Vladimir
Putin, seeking to assuage rising public
anger, promised a moderate increase
in pensions and blamed federal and lo
cal officials Monday for failing to prop
erly implement Kremlin reforms that
cut off benefits to millions of Russians.
Putin’s first public comments since
the unpopular change took effect
came hours after lines of police
blocked hundreds of protesters from
retaking a major intersection in central
St. Petersburg that thousands of pen
sioners had occupied over the week
end, bringing traffic to a halt. Demon
strators blocked major avenues and
key highways in other cities.
“The Cabinet and the regions have
failed to fully implement the task we
had discussed: in making such deci
sions, not to worsen the position of
those who need the state’s help,” Putin
told Cabinet members in a partially
televised session.
A law that gives retirees, the dis
abled, war veterans and others cash
stipends instead of benefits, such as
free medicine and public transporta
tion, took effect Jan. 1, sparking the
largest uproar in Putin’s five years
in power.
Large protests have spread to nu
merous cities across Russia’s 11 time
zones, including Putin’s hometown,
St. Petersburg. Officials said the reform
affects about 40 million of Russia’s 144
million people.
Protesters say new monthly pay
ments of about $10 are worth much
less than the benefits, forcing them to
have to choose between food,
transportation and medicine.
The Kremlin has described the so
cial reform as a long-overdue effort to
streamline and modernize the econo
my, but many commentators now pre
dict that Putin may respond to the
crisis by firing government ministers.
Putin defended the reform, saying
its general concept was right and that
the state can’t afford to maintain the
existing unwieldy and inefficient social
support system.
Putin supported decisions by some
local officials to issue subsidized trav
el passes and also instructed the gov
ernment to increase the average
monthly pension by at least $7.14 in
stead of the planned $3.57 — and to
do it March 1 instead of April 1.
Health and Social Development Min
ister Mikhail Zurabov said pensions
may be increased by $8.57.
Protesters across Russia have de
manded more, saying an average
monthly pension, which is about $80,
can’t cover the rising living costs.
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