For the first time since 2012, Vladimir Putin increased the salaries of himself and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Salaries of top officials increased 2.5 times. However, experts believe that even after the increase, the president and prime minister receive too little.

Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin, Kommersant / buy photo

Vladimir Putin raised his salary. According to his decree, the salaries of the president and prime minister increased two and a half times. The last time the remuneration of the country's top officials was revised was in 2012. Then it amounted to 63 thousand rubles. per month from Vladimir Putin and 50.5 thousand rubles. from Dmitry Medvedev. There is an opinion in society that the president and prime minister do not need high salaries, since most of their expenses are budget expenses. Political scientist Vyacheslav Smirnov reported this.

“The population really believes that the president and prime minister live off the budget, and, based on this, they do not need to increase salaries. That is, in terms of PR, the statement about increasing salaries worked, of course, negatively, because the amounts that were declared were for for a mere mortal, of course, they are large. People, as a rule, think in terms of the size of their pension. But against the backdrop of Crimea, this is like a bonus for Crimea. An increase in salaries for top officials is a significant event for officials, it is like a signal to the bureaucrats. that their salaries could also increase,” said Smirnov.

The remuneration of the country's top officials should have been increased long ago, political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin is sure.

“It’s not a very successful, but inevitable move, when the president’s salary is $2 thousand, while the State Duma deputies’ salary rises to $3-5 thousand. It looks like hypocrisy. Of course, it should have been increased a long time ago. It’s unlikely that this topic will seriously affect someone who held more than 50 thousand rubles in their hands. It is clear that this is a conversation in favor of the poor. This is precisely what Putin is moving to the left in his rhetoric. Of course, it must be said that the president lives on one salary. His salary is decent, more than that of a turner or a baker, but, in principle, also quite comparable with some office manager,” Oreshkin shared.

The salaries of the president and minister are inadequate even after the increase. This is the opinion of Stanislav Alekseev, managing partner for Russia at the company for the selection of top managers Transearch International.

"It is clear that this is not the money on which they will live. They are also normal people. Especially in light of the latest tightening of declarations. These declarations themselves also look quite funny, when trailers are declared year after year. The president and prime minister cannot receive as a secretary in a Moscow office with knowledge of English. At a minimum, neither the president nor the prime minister should receive less than the heads of the largest state-owned companies, and perhaps even more. Their salaries should be somehow tied to the country's achievements. , the volume of the economy. If we talk about absolute figures, this should be measured in millions of dollars per year,” Alekseev is sure.

In March of this year, it became known that Slovak President Andrej Kiska refused his salary. He announced this decision two days after winning the presidential elections. The salary of the Slovak president is €6.5 thousand per month.

Liliya Ponomareva

“The president and prime minister cannot earn money as a secretary in the Moscow office”