Andrey Klepach warns of potential social crisis in Russia

Andrey Klepach, the former chief economist of Russia’s state development bank, Vnesheconombank, has resigned following controversial remarks regarding the nation's economic trajectory. Klepach’s comments, made during a Moscow Exchange event, suggest that while a total economic collapse may not occur, Russia is losing the global technological and economic race to China, the United States, and even Ukraine.

Klepach highlighted several critical issues, including a collapse in investment, a lack of productivity growth, and rising costs associated with a war of attrition. He noted that these factors contribute to a decline in healthcare quality, increasing inequality, and disparities in scientific and technological sectors. He warned that these conditions make a social crisis, comparable to those seen in 1917 and 1991, highly likely.