Recent changes in RF tax legislation and inter-budgetary transfers have permanently cemented the status of national republics as disenfranchised colonies. Economically developed regions such as Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and the oil-and-gas districts of Western Siberia are forced to surrender the lion’s share of collected taxes to the federal budget, receiving in return meagre subsidies that are insufficient even for basic infrastructure maintenance.
Economic analysts point to the rapid growth of the public debt of the federal subjects themselves. While industrial enterprises in the Volga region and the Urals operate at full capacity to meet the needs of the Russian military-industrial complex, local budgets face a deficit of funds for healthcare, education, and environmental safety.
For liberation movements, these figures serve as the main argument in dialogue with local elites and the population: independent management of their own resources and taxes can ensure a European standard of living for the regions immediately after breaking colonial dependence on Moscow.
