Russia repaid the debt of the USSR on March 21, 2017. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Sergei Storchak. The last state to which our country owed money was Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Soviet debt amounted to just over 125 million US dollars.
According to official data, it will be redeemed in a one-time transaction within 45 days. Thus, by May 5, 2017, our country will completely get rid of the obligations of the Soviet past.
Why Russia pays the debt for the USSR
Many Russian patriots unanimously declare that we should not have paid for the obligations of a non-existent country. Their argument, as a rule, is the same: all the former Soviet republics ate and drank, and only Russia should pay. We received the external debt of the USSR after its collapse. In addition to liabilities, i.e. debts, Russia also received huge preferences:
- All domestic and foreignassets.
- The entire gold reserve of the USSR.
- Obligations of other countries to the USSR became obligations to Russia.
- Our country received the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council as the successor of the USSR.
Thus, the external debt of the USSR at the time of the collapse turned out to be beneficial for our country. How we took advantage of the situation is, of course, a separate topic for discussion. In addition to the benefits, we also received obligations that we were able to fulfill only by 2017. According to preliminary estimates by economists and political scientists, the total value of the USSR's foreign property was estimated at approximately $300-400 billion. And this is not to mention everything else (gold reserves, the right to claim from other countries, etc.). It is noteworthy that in 1991 Ukraine did not ratify the agreement, according to which our country will get everything: both liabilities and assets. The share of neighbors' debt, according to their calculations, is $14 billion, and the share of external assets alone is $50-60 billion.
Zero Option
In 1991, an agreement was initially signed - a Memorandum of Understanding. According to it, the debt of the USSR at the time of the collapse was to be divided proportionally, that is, it was possible to divide the obligations between all the countries that were part of the Union. However, all assets would also have to be divided according to the percentage of the debt. Russia, as the successor not of the USSR, but of the RSFSR, would get a little more than 61%, Tajikistan, for example, - 0.82%. In addition to the division of debts, our country would lose its place as a permanent member inUN Security Council.
On April 2, 1993, our state announced the “zero option”. This meant that we got all the assets and liabilities of a non-existent country. From that day on, we took away not only all the gold, foreign and domestic assets, but also the entire sovereign debt of the USSR. Some did not support this decision, others (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) refused to have any business connected with the Soviet Union at all. What debt of the USSR passed to our country? More on that later.
Debt of the USSR at the time of collapse
Russia got an external debt of $96.6 billion. This amount was made up of bonds of an internal foreign currency loan, bonds of Vnesheconombank, loans from other countries, obligations to members of the London Club. Assets, according to economists, our country received much more: the official authorities refused to provide complete information about the state of the gold reserves, the diamond fund, as well as other large assets.
The amount of $96.6 billion was announced by an official - Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak. However, other figures appear in the press. Thus, Andrei Illarionov, head of the analysis and planning group under the chairman of the government (1993-1994), cited a figure of $67.8 billion. In his report, he relied on the tables of the World Bank. There were also figures higher - up to $140 billion.
Such discrepancies occur because the debt of the USSR was not officially published anywherestraightaway. The first official information about him appears only in 1994 from the Central Bank. Then the obligations were in the amount of 104.5 billion dollars, taking into account accrued interest. Only the total value of foreign assets was estimated at 300-400 billion dollars. Therefore, modern patriots need to understand that our country has only benefited from such a division of assets and liabilities. How did we manage them? This is another topic for conversations and publications.
We forgive but we don't?
The second group of our patriots does not dispute obligations for the debts of the Soviet Union, but they speak negatively about the fact that many states had debts to the USSR. However, Moscow forgave almost all of them when President Vladimir Putin came to power. These countries are listed below.
North Korea – $10 billion written off
In September 2012, our country wrote off 90% of its debt to the USSR. Official reason for write-off: future joint projects in education, he althcare, energy, etc.
Economists have calculated that Russia can get access to a profitable gas pipeline to South Korea through the DPRK, as well as good contracts for the reconstruction of the railway in this country. In addition, the Russian Federation will gain access to mineral resources that other countries are denied access to. If Russia takes advantage of the situation, then the forgiveness of the USSR's debt will do more good than its demand.
However, political scientists are skeptical about such projects: the new leader Kim Jong-un is an unstable personin matters of laying economic and political courses.
Africa - more than $20 billion
Debts to the USSR had many countries of the African continent:
- Benin;
- Tanzania;
- Sierra Leone;
- Guinea-Bissau;
- Chad;
- Burkina Faso;
- Equatorial Guinea;
- Mozambique;
- Algeria;
- Ethiopia.
In June 1999, our country forgave them up to 90% of the debt. Russia became a member of the Paris Club of creditors. Political status demanded grand gestures. Not all countries were so easily written off the debt: Algeria, for example, was obliged to purchase industrial goods in our country for the amount of the debt ($4.7 billion). In fact, for our own money, we sold our own goods. The official version is that many countries could not pay us anyway. Like, what to take from them? However, not all countries we have forgiven are so "poor and miserable."
Iraq - $21.5 billion
The situation with Iraq defies any political and economic logic. In 2004, our country wrote off $9.5 billion to this country. Then Iraq again took loans from us, which were written off in 2008. The official version: the hope that the leadership of Iraq will take into account the interests of Russian oil companies. This country in the Middle East is the second largest oil exporter in the world, so it was quite possible to pay off our debts.
Vietnam - $9.5 billion
The situation with Vietnam is also incomprehensible: we have not received practicallyno preferences from debt restructuring. This country of Southeast Asia was one of the first to whom Russia forgave the debt. In 2000, we wrote off 9.5 billion dollars of debt out of 11. The rest will be paid through joint projects in Vietnam until 2022.
Syria - about $10 billion
Syria also has rich hydrocarbon deposits. Almost 10 billion dollars out of 13.5 our country wrote off in 2005. The remaining debt must also be paid through joint projects in construction, gas and oil. Syria is also obliged to purchase Russian weapons to modernize the army.
Others
Debts to the USSR were not only the above countries. We were also owed Afghanistan, Mongolia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Madagascar, etc. We were also owed states that are no longer on the world map: Czechoslovakia, East Germany, some countries in Africa and Asia. Now it is futile to demand something from them.
