Rewards and Revenge…With a Side of US Politics

The first story concerns Russia’s becoming a two-tier society. Yes, war veterans have many services that ordinary Russians don’t.

No, I am not against having certain services for Vets, but Russia is not doing this at the level of preferential loans, or specialized medical services like the VA. It is more like creating a new class of people with access to free money. This is on top of the eye-watering wages soldiers get when they sign up:

Mishustin ordered to distribute money from the budget to “veterans of the SVO” to start a business

The government will start spending budget funds allocated for supporting small and medium-sized businesses to help war veterans who have returned from the front open their own businesses. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development to work out the possibility of helping “veterans of the SVO” open their own businesses in the My Business entrepreneurship support centers by September 15. The latter were created as part of the national project back in 2019 and operate on the one-stop-shop principle, providing services to entrepreneurs in opening and developing a business. In particular, in the My Business centers, which operate in all regions of Russia, you can register as an individual entrepreneur, learn about…