MOSCOW: The Russian economy runs a risk of going berserk if it is run to focus entirely on the needs of the military-industrial complex, President Vladimir Putin's international development envoy was quoted as saying on Tuesday.The comments by Boris Titov to business news outlet RBC were a rare sign of concern in Kremlin circles about the increasing pressure on the slowing economy to secure a victory in the 4-1/2-year war in Ukraine.Titov, appointed in 2024 as Putin's special representative to international organisations for achieving sustainable development goals, is a wealthy businessman who used to own Russia's leading producer of sparkling wine.
He led an influential business lobby and ran for president in 2018.
Military and civilian economies have always existed in symbiosis everywhere.
Many technical inventions that are useful for all originated within the military-industrial complex.
The key lies in maintaining balance, Titov told RBC.Russia has hiked taxes, embarked on property redistribution, welcomed contributions from businesses to finance the war, and, most recently, threatened business owners who are not doing enough to protect their facilities from Ukrainian drones.War hawks and some government officials often refer to the reorganisation of the Soviet economy under dictator Josef Stalin during World War Two as a model, citing the wartime slogan Everything for the front, everything for victory .'BERSERK' MODE IS TIME-LIMITED, TITOV SAYSThis approach is met with cautious but growing resistance from various sectors.
