Referendums in the LDNR: an economist estimated the costs of joining territories to Russia

The restoration of cities will require billions – and not rubles, but dollars

All day on September 20, the main news in the Russian media was the possible entry into Russia of the republics of the LDNR, as well as the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. For referendums in these territories, liberated from the Armed Forces of Ukraine by the Russian army, they have already begun to prepare, without delaying things. We asked Aleksey Zubts, a professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation: what problems can the Russian economy face if the liberated territories, following the example of Crimea, “return to their native harbor”?

“If we talk about the advantages of such accession, then first of all we can note an additional opportunity in the development of agriculture,” Zubov said. – The territory of southern Ukraine is the most fertile zone for growing vegetables, fruits, grains. In a word, it is a granary.

Let’s take into account that the regions that want to become part of Russia have quite a lot of different natural resources. These are coal, and ore, and non-metallic deposits,

Local residents – additional millions of people. They know how to work, in addition, they can be considered as consumers, due to them our consumer market and commodity exchange will expand significantly.

– Are there any “cons” in this project?

– Unfortunately, there are a lot of them. First, the reaction of Western countries to such accession is incomprehensible. Most likely, new economic sanctions will be introduced, which will lead to new problems in the export of Russian oil, gas, and mineral fertilizers. Accordingly, it will become more difficult for us to import, to bring foreign goods into the country.

So far, we do not know this reaction, but the “response” will follow, which will create additional problems for our economy.

– And what about the standard of living of Russians? When the FRG “absorbed” the GDR, the well-being of the West Germans was noticeably shaken. What can our fellow citizens expect if Russia accepts these territories into its “family”?

– The territories are in a deplorable state, both in terms of the economy and in terms of infrastructure. To restore it, Moscow will have to invest hundreds of billions – and not even rubles, but dollars, if we are talking about the complete modernization of the regions. There are completely or almost completely destroyed cities, engineering infrastructure. Even now, these days, it is necessary to restore heat and water supply and other communications there so that people can spend the winter in peace.

This is a huge burden on our budget for the coming years.

It should be noted that according to the statements of the leaders of Ukraine, joining Russia does not matter and will not change their plans for the future. They will continue to fight. This means that military action can. We are facing large expenses, which will be a heavy burden on the budget and taxpayers. The costs associated with the standard of living of Russians, social programs that are still in effect today, will shrink. And you need to be ready for this.

Read also: “The consequences of referendums in the LDNR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions are named”