Lawmakers Give Themselves Hefty Perks
Members of the lower house of Russia’s new Parliament gave themselves a fat package of perks Friday that includes 48 days of paid vacation a year and salaries equal to those of Cabinet ministers.
Deputies will also get apartments in Moscow or a housing allowance equal to the cost of a suite at a four-star hotel.
Each of the 450 legislators will get a car and a driver and free rides on Russia’s airlines and railroads.
They gave themselves bonuses for work of “special intensity,” the “right to be received immediately by heads of government organizations” and “services enjoyed by Cabinet ministers.”
The newspaper Izvestia estimated it will cost taxpayers about $10,000 a month to pay for the legislators’ perks and salaries.
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