Russia Wins at Soccer — And Makes Unpopular Moves

It would be a stroke of luck for any other country’s government: On the day it announces a major retirement age increase and a tax hike, the national soccer team wins 5:0 in a World Cup game. But for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s victory over Saudi Arabia on Thursday was just a cherry on the cake. There would have been no protests against the unpopular moves, anyway.

The main reason is that the more important of the two moves, the retirement age increase, was even harder to avoid in Russia than in most other countries. Population aging is a global phenomenon, and dozens of nations are telling citizens they’ll have to retire later than their parents — which makes sense, because people also live longer and their working lives can stretch. The retirement age hikes are steeper in former communist countries which once prided themselves on their social safety nets.