The White House analyzed the impact of the Saturday rebellion PMC “Wagner” on the economy

The White House on Monday, June 26, assessed the impact of Saturday’s Wagner PMC mutiny on industries – this was the first public assessment of the civilian consequences of what happened by the government. At a meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, his deputies assured that, in general, the economic situation in the country on the day of the rebellion remained normal. Bursts of citizens’ demand for cash were recorded – in the southern regions and large cities the growth was up to 70-80%, as well as for goods and fuel, but there were no interruptions in supply. The officials who worked all Saturday in the “headquarters” mode, among other things, worked out alternative routes for the delivery of goods in case of an aggravation of the situation, as well as strengthening security measures at enterprises.

The meeting of Mikhail Mishustin with his deputies, although it took place as planned, turned out to be post-emergency – in addition to discussing current tasks, officials reported on the situation in the sectors of the economy during and after the Wagner PMC rebellion (see “Kommersant” dated June 26). This was the first public reaction to what actually happened from the White House.

Directly at the height of the events on June 24, it was reported that Mikhail Mishustin was at his workplace and was holding meetings, on the websites of departments either the president’s address to citizens was duplicated, or messages similar in tone were published. For example, the Ministry of Finance posted an appeal by its head Anton Siluanov to employees of the department, in which he asked to remain calm, the Ministry of Economy published a message for the tourism industry and tourists.

On Monday, Mikhail Mishustin described the events as an attempt to “destabilize the internal situation in Russia.”

In the financial sector, judging by the speech of First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, the most noticeable was the increase in demand for cash – in about 15 regions and by an average of 30%.

The most active growth was noted in the southern regions, which were directly affected by the “march of justice” of PMCs – in the Rostov, Voronezh and Lipetsk regions, as well as in large cities – there the demand for cash jumped by 70-80%. However, as Mr. Belousov assured, against the backdrop of a three-fold increase in the volume of reinforcement in cash, “it was possible to completely avoid any violations of the regular situation – all ATMs worked as usual, and already on Sunday demand began to wane.”

Citizens tried to stock up not only with money, but also products. Demand growth was noted in trade: according to Andrey Belousov, in the Rostov region – by 10-15%, in the Lipetsk region – by 30%, and in the Voronezh region – by 50%. According to Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the rise in demand for certain groups of goods was recorded in moments, but the authorities oriented retail chains not to resort to sales restrictions. “There was no need, since chains have been constantly holding multi-day stocks for socially important goods since the beginning of the pandemic,” he explained. However, in case of an emergency, food delivery routes were worked out – taking into account the overlaps, alternative logistics were built, which, judging by the words of Denis Manturov, was not needed. Not observed, added Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, and the deficit medicines — for most of the drugs included in the list of vital and necessary, there is a reserve for 10-12 months.

The industrial sector, on the other hand, was busy strengthening the security of facilities – according to Denis Manturov, with the involvement of the forces of the Russian Guard, organizations whose activities are associated with the risks of man-made accidents were taken under special control, and evacuation teams were prepared in case of an aggravation.

Measures were taken, in particular, in relation to objects fuel and energy complex, added Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak: the access control was strengthened, the duty staff was transferred to round-the-clock work. In general, according to him, the situation in the sector was regular, with the exception of “several technological violations” (including a fire at an oil depot) in the Voronezh region. In the southern regions, the demand for fuel at filling stations increased over the weekend, but in general there were no interruptions in supply (stocks exceed 15 days), prices were stable. Work was also named staff in the White House connections on weekends, according to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, there was only a surge in calls to the citizen information hotline 122, which received 2.5 thousand calls on June 24, 70% more than usual.

Relatively, the victims were transport sector – we recall that in anticipation of developments, the authorities blocked traffic on the M-4 Don highway (in the Rostov, Voronezh, Lipetsk regions) and limited it to M-2 Crimea and M-5 Ural, in some places the road surface was damaged , it was also reported that more than 10 thousand square meters were damaged by equipment. m of roadbed in Rostov-on-Don. According to Andrei Belousov, by Sunday morning, the asphalt surface on the M-4 was restored and traffic has now been fully resumed, but traffic jams remain. Railway and air transport worked normally, however, due to overlaps and congestion, passengers were late for trains and flights – now, Andrey Belousov said, work is underway with airlines to ensure automatic rebooking of tickets. Also, Dmitry Chernyshenko added, it is recommended not to impose penalties in case of refusal of clients from tours. In general, the Deputy Prime Minister noted, there were no sharp fluctuations in prices for accommodation and flights within the country. However, he did not mention the situation with flights abroad – we recall that last weekend ticket prices jumped sharply against the backdrop of rush demand, but then stabilized (see “Kommersant” dated June 26).

Evgenia Kryuchkova