Putin Buys Off the Poor, Writes Off Middle Class With War Budget
- Social programs cut number of people living below subsistence
- Fighting in Ukraine offers escape from poverty amid hardships
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Alexei Malov’s dream was to own a white Lada.
When his family in the Saratov region received a payment in compensation for their son’s death fighting in Ukraine, it went to buy just the car he’d wanted, according to a report aired on Russian state television last year.