{
  "id": 4658024,
  "title": "Russia doesn’t need a military economy, it’s a ‘complete breakdown of the system,’ says former Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/russia-doesnt-need-a-military-economy-its-a-complete-breakdown-of-the",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-31T14:11:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/08/31/russia-doesn-t-need-a-military-economy-it-s-a-complete-breakdown-of-the-system-says-former-finance-minister-mikhail-zadornov"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov has dismissed the notion that Russia's economy needs to become a military one, calling it \"pure fantasy.\" He argues that such an economy would require a complete overhaul of the current system, with its own institutions and different rules of operation, which would necessitate extensive legislation and enforcement mechanisms. Zadornov believes the transition to a military economy would take years and would trigger an economic downturn, which he considers \"extremely unwise\" during wartime. Despite Russia's market economy facing previous crises and adapting to significant shocks, Zadornov points to data showing the country's federal budget spending increasing by 75% in nominal terms from 2022 to the current year, while cumulative inflation from 2022 to 2026 reached 30%. He asserts that the economy is capable of growing and financing military spending, which has roughly tripled over the same period. Recent debates have emerged over shifting Russia's economy to a \"war footing\" in response to Ukrainian strikes. However, Zadornov's perspective stands in contrast to some politicians, who believe the country needs to adopt such a system to protect itself.",
  "summary": "Russia’s economy “doesn’t need” to become a military one, and doing so is “impossible,” Mikhail Zadornov — Russia’s finance minister from 1997 to 1999 and later head of Otkritie Bank — told the Russian business news outlet RBC.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}