Russian Bill to Curtail Benefits Is Passed
Russia’s upper house of parliament approved a controversial social reform bill Sunday, ending an array of Soviet-era benefits for some of Russia’s most impoverished and vulnerable citizens, including World War II veterans.
The measure, which goes to President Vladimir V. Putin for his signature, sparked protests around the nation.
The Federation Council, which usually rubber-stamps legislation for the Kremlin, approved the government-backed legislation 156-5, with one abstention.
The lower house of parliament, dominated by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, approved the measure Thursday.
The bill replaces many long-standing benefits for an estimated 30 million people with monthly payments ranging from $5.10 to $53.
The benefits being replaced include free access to urban transportation, free local telephone service, free artificial limbs, job guarantees for the disabled and, for many, free medicine.
Svetlana Orlova, deputy chairwoman of the Federation Council, told the chamber that the measure would help streamline the nation’s lumbering bureaucracy and direct $171 billion to those who are in need of it.
Many recipients were outraged. On Sunday, a group of about 50 protesters in Moscow carried placards reading, “Hands off veterans’ benefits!”
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