Navalny proposes draft bill on raising pensions for Russia’s WWII veterans

Opposition politician Alexey Navalny has published a draft bill that suggests raising monthly pensions for Russia’s remaining veterans of the Second World War to 200,000 rubles (approximately $2,875). 

Navalny wrote on his blog that he sent the document to “all leaders of factions in the Duma and especially United Russia, as well as the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.”

He also noted that Russia has 75,000 remaining World War II veterans. “My proposal to raise [pensions] for those who directly fought to 200,000 [rubles] wouldn’t be so burdensome for the budget,” Navalny said. “This is largely a symbolic gesture. But it must be done.”

Navalny also published a petition on the site change.org, titled “Pensions of participants in the Great Fatherland War should be no less than the pensions of Wehrmacht soldiers.”

The pension of a junior Wehrmacht officer is $2,700 or 188,000 rubles. Let our veterans live the rest of their lives knowing that the state, the government, and the people value them so much that they are paying [them] a very good pension.

According to data from the Russian Pension Fund, Russia’s WWII veterans, including those with disabilities, receive monthly pensions of 34,000 rubles on average (around $488). This is in addition to monthly federal benefit payments: for WWII veterans these are worth a little more than 4,000 rubles (around $78), while disabled veterans receive about 5,500 rubles ($107).