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   Russia's 2026 budget has been announced. 40% of all expenditures will go to   
   the military. And we're already complaining that it should first be 2% and   
   then more or less 5% in a few years.   
      
   But 40% of the budget has enormous consequences for Russians.   
      
   Benefits, infrastructure investments, and healthcare are bound to suffer.   
   After all, ordinary civil servants also need to be paid, and the police need   
   to be paid. With 40% going to the military, there's little left for the   
   population. Only 25% of the budget is reserved for social programs.   
      
   Russia is in survival mode, because this budget not only indicates that Russia   
   has entered a full-blown existential crisis, but also that it wants to   
   continue this war at the expense of enormous suffering for the population.   
      
   And then you have to consider that the budget is also 1.6% larger than the   
   budgeted revenues.   
      
   With Ukraine's recent attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in particular,   
   it's clear that this budget and the budget deficit can never be kept at just   
   1.6%.   
      
   Taxes will have to rise, but how much can Russians afford now that jobs are   
   becoming scarcer, benefits are literally disappearing, and trade with the   
   world is becoming increasingly difficult?   
      
   Inflation in Russia is bound to skyrocket, and economic activity will decline   
   dramatically, because no one has the money left to buy much beyond basic   
   necessities.   
      
   Putin has already tapped into Russia's gold reserves, and I suspect that   
   pension funds have already been depleted. Putin will keep going until Russia   
   is bankrupt.   
      
    .   
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