Russia paid off the debt of the USSR on March 21, 2017. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation Sergey Storchak. The last state our country owed was Bosnia and Herzegovina. The debt of the USSR amounted to just over 125 million US dollars.
According to official figures, it will be repaid in a single 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 debt for the USSR
Many Russian patriots unanimously declare that we should not have to pay 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 Russia alone should pay. We received the external debt of the USSR after its collapse. In addition to liabilities, i.e. debts, Russia received still huge preferences:
- All domestic and foreign assets.
- The entire gold reserve of the USSR.
- The obligations of other countries to the USSR became obligations to Russia.
- Our country has received the status of a permanent member of the UN Security Council as the successor to the USSR.
Thus, the external debt of the USSR at the time of the collapse turned out to be beneficial to 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 could only fulfill by 2017. According to preliminary estimates of economists and political scientists, the total value of foreign property of the USSR was estimated at about 300-400 billion dollars. And this is not to mention everything else (gold reserves, the right to claim from other countries, etc.). It is noteworthy, but in 1991 Ukraine did not ratify the agreement, according to which our country will get everything: both liabilities and assets. The share of debt of neighbors, 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 originally signed - a Memorandum of Understanding. According to it, the debt of the USSR at the time of collapse should have been divided proportionally, that is, it was possible to share obligations between all countries that were members of the Union. However, all assets would also have to be divided according to the percentage of debt. Russia as the legal successor of not the USSR, but the RSFSR, would have got a little more than 61%, Tajikistan, for example, - 0.82%. In addition to the division of debts, our country would lose its permanent seat on the UN 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, external and internal assets, but also the entire sovereign debt of the USSR. Some did not support this decision, others (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and even refused to have at least some affairs related to the Soviet Union. What debt of the USSR passed to our country? About it further.
USSR debt at the time of collapse
Russia got an external debt of $ 96.6 billion. This amount consisted of bonds of a domestic foreign currency loan, bonds of a foreign economic bank, loans from other countries, obligations to members of the London Club. According to economists, our country received much more assets: the official authorities refused to provide full information about the state of the gold reserve, diamond fund, as well as other large assets.
The amount of $ 96.6 billion was announced by an official - Deputy Minister of Finance Sergey Storchak. However, other figures appear in the press. So, the head of the analysis and planning group under the chairman of the government (1993-1994) Andrei Illarionov cited the figure of 67.8 billion dollars. In his report, he relied on World Bank tables. Also, there were numbers and higher - up to 140 billion dollars.
Such discrepancies occur because the debt of the USSR was never officially published immediately. 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 the 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 do we handle them? This is another topic for conversation and publication.
We forgive, but we do not?
The second group of our patriots does not dispute the obligations on the debts of the Soviet Union, but they negatively say that many states had debts to the USSR. However, almost all of them were forgiven by Moscow when President Vladimir V. Putin came to power. We list these countries below.
North Korea - $ 10 billion written off
In September 2012, our country wrote off 90% of the debt to the USSR. The official reason for the cancellation: future joint projects in the field of education, health, energy, etc.
Economists have estimated that Russia can gain 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, which are denied access to other countries. If Russia takes advantage of the situation, then the canceled debt of the USSR will bring more benefits from forgiveness than from its demand.
However, political scientists are skeptical of such projects: the new leader, Kim Jong-un, is an unstable person in matters of drawing economic and political courses.
Africa - over $ 20 billion
Many countries of the African continent had debts to the USSR:
- 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 required wide gestures. Not all countries canceled off debt so easily: Algeria, for example, was obliged to purchase manufactured goods in our country in the amount of debt ($ 4.7 billion). In fact, for our money, we sold our own goods. The official version is such that many countries could not pay with us anyway. Like, what to take from them? However, not all the countries that we have forgiven are so “poor and unhappy.”
Iraq - $ 21.5 billion
The situation with Iraq defies any political and economic logic. In 2004, our country wrote off this country 9.5 billion dollars. Then Iraq again collected 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 Middle East country is the second largest in the world in oil export, so it was quite possible to pay off our debts with us.
Vietnam - $ 9.5 billion
The situation with Vietnam is also incomprehensible : we received almost no preferences from debt restructuring. This country of Southeast Asia was one of the first to whom Russia has forgiven debt. In 2000, we wrote off $ 9.5 billion of eleven debt. The rest will be paid through joint projects in Vietnam until 2022.
Syria - about 10 billion dollars
Syria also has rich hydrocarbon deposits. Almost 10 billion dollars out of 13.5, our country wrote off in 2005. The remaining debt should also be paid through joint projects in the field of construction, gas, oil. Syria is also obliged to purchase Russian weapons to modernize the army.
Rest
Debts to the USSR were not only the above countries. We were also indebted to Afghanistan, Mongolia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Madagascar and others. We also owed states that are no longer on the world map: Czechoslovakia, East Germany, some countries in Africa and Asia. Now demanding something from them is futile.