Russia’s Ability to Pay

Perhaps we should refer to Russia’s “willingness” to pay or make reparations (or restitution) for all of the damage that they have done and are doing in the land of the Ukraine. Or perhaps we should focus on President Putin himself rather than the whole country of Russia (although the nation itself is also guilty). However we look at this, we find a massive amount of repentance that needs to occur and a massive amount of restitution needed.

We are not at all dealing with salvation here. We know (and hopefully you know) that anyone without Christ is lost and separated from God. This includes the Russian people as well as the Ukrainian people. But we are just referring to the war that has been going on.

Consider this: Maybe no one knows for sure, but the tens of thousands of lives that Putin has murdered is only the first matter at hand. He really owes much, much more.

Of course he is responsible for the 200,000 Russian soldiers and, consequently, for the tens of thousands of Russian soldier deaths over the past several months. But he is also responsible for the destruction of a massive amount of infrastructure damage in the nation that he has invaded. In this case, a wealthy nation (Russia) has invaded a weak and insignificant one (the Ukraine).

I did some research on this and it is difficult to find reliable figures. It is difficult to get an up-to-date figure on this carnage. We learn this:

The latest analysis shows that, as of March 24, at least 4,431 residential buildings, 92 factories and warehouses, 378 institutions of secondary and higher education, 138 health care institutions, 12 airports, seven thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants have been damaged, destroyed or seized in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb. 24 — totaling an estimated $62,889,000. Compared to the previous estimate published on March 17, net growth amounted to $3.5 billion, according to the KSE Institute. (https://abcnews.go.com/International/cost-damage-ukraines-infrastructure-amid-russias-invasion/story?id=83719126)

But is this accurate? Notice that we have figures for March 24 and it is now over a month later than this. But even $62 billion is very much. Another report puts it this way:

Ukraine’s overall economic losses due to the war — taking into account both direct losses calculated from the project as well as indirect losses, like GDP decline — range from $543 billion to $600 billion, according to an estimate by the KSE Institute and the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy. (Ibid)

This figure of 600 billion dollars is more understandable. But has this gone up a lot since the figures were compiled? Yes, surely it has.

Then we find these figures—but they also are very much outdated (from this https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/russia-can-be-made-to-pay-for-ukraine-damage-now/:). If Russia would ever want to pay for the damage that they have done, various other countries would need to hold this offending country accountable:

According to the most recent data supplied by Russia’s central bank, as of June 30, 2021, Russia’s foreign currency reserves totaled $585 billion, though not all of this would be accessible to pay for damages. That’s because Russia holds a good portion of the total in gold at home (22%), a substantial amount of renminbi in China (14%), and some in international institutions (5%). Subtracting these amounts leaves about $350 billion in “available reserves” for distribution—mostly held by France (12%), Germany (10%), Japan (10%) and the U.S. (7%), with the rest scattered among many other countries. (Ibid)

Instead of June 30, it is now two years later—with a great amount of money owed by the hardened country of Russia. Would Russia go along with this massive amount? Personally, I was wondering how this offending country would pay for all of the damage that they have done. Isn’t there some sort of international accountability?

There is and we read this:

Russia has committed on a massive scale what under U.S. law is considered an “intentional tort”: unprovoked violence, which requires at a minimum that the aggressor pay damages for human suffering, deaths, and property losses. (https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/russia-can-be-made-to-pay-for-ukraine-damage-now/).

We know that there is a limit to which Russia and Putin can be held accountable. (We are amazed that a man can do so much damage and commit so much wickedness in such a short time!) The question arises: how much is Putin himself worth? We find this in an interesting article entitled, “Putin claims he makes $140,000 and has a 800-square foot apartment. His actual net worth is a mystery no one can solve” (https://fortune.com/2022/03/02/vladimir-putin-net-worth-2022/).

We find this:

“According to some experts, he may be the wealthiest man in the world with assets totaling up to $200 billion. While that is a ridiculous amount of money for anyone to have, this figure may not be so far-fetched for Putin. (Ibid)

Putin is often seen sporting high-end luxury watches that are retailed for multiple times his supposed annual income.

He has been pictured wearing Patek Philippe’s Perpetual Calendar watch worth $60,000 and allegedly owns a $500,000 A. Lange & Sohne Toubograph, as well as other fancy designs. (Ibid)

We find further these comments about his “mansion”:

$1.4 Billion Black Sea mansion

Putin is rumored to be the owner of a beautiful 190,000 square-foot mansion sitting atop a cliff that overlooks the Black Sea. This coastal property is reputed as the largest private residence in the country and serves as his private palace endearingly called “Putin’s Country Cottage”.

The estate is Putin’s playland, boasting frescoed ceilings, a marble swimming pool lined with statues of Greek gods, a 27,000 square-foot guest house, spas with traditional hammams, a musical parlor, dressing rooms for all his staff, an amphitheater, a state-of-the-art ice hockey rink, a Vegas-style casino, a nightclub equipped with stripper poles, a barroom showcasing more than $100,000 of wine and spirits, an underground tasting room overlooking the water, and much more.

Most of the mansion is reportedly decorated by an exclusive luxury Italian brand called Citterio Atena including Louis XIV style sofas, $500,000 in dining room furniture, and a $54,000 bar table. It even has decked-out bathrooms with fancy $850 Italian toilet brushes and $1,250 toilet paper holders.

On top of all the extravagant furnishings, an annual $2 million is spent just to maintain the property’s landscaping by a 40-person staff.

The Black Sea Mansion was designed by Italian architect Lanfranco Cirillo and cost $1.4 billion to construct. According to a Reuters investigation, the money for this extravagant project was supposedly laundered through the country’s 1.3-trillion-ruble national project called “Health” in which the state bought expensive medical equipment from a company owned by Putin’s friends Shamalov and Gorelov at a much higher rate than the market price. Records show that the two men sent around $56 million to Swiss bank accounts of a Belize company. Then the Belize account transferred approximately $48 million to an account controlled by Medea Investment- a company controlled by Cirillo himself. Moscow Times reports that Shamalov, Gorelov, and Cirillo denied all allegations.

The Kremlin denies Putin’s ownership of the palace saying it belongs to a wealthy businessman. But Russian analysts call it a blatant lie, saying that no businessman can have properties guarded by the FSB (Russia’s federal security service) with a no-fly zone over it. (Ibid)

Would this huge amount help to pay for the reparations that President Putin owes? Let’s continue our examination:

Aircraft, helicopters, and cars

Apart from the Black Sea Mansion and 19 other houses and 700 cars, Putin supposedly has a collection of 58 aircraft and helicopters including a $716 million dollar plane called “The Flying Kremlin” that has a toilet made of gold. Not surprising considering his taste for grandiose, neoclassical architecture.

And to keep his options open by land, air, or sea, he also has a $100-million-dollar megayacht designed by a nuclear submarine maker from the Russian navy.

This would help Putin to pay for the damage that he has done in the Ukraine, don’t you think?

Let’s continue:

$200 Billion Dollar Blackmail

The $200 billion figure was estimated by financier Bill Browder who, in a testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, said that Putin amassed most of his wealth after a Moscow court jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2003 for fraud and tax evasion:

“After Khodorkovsky’s conviction, the other oligarchs went to Putin and asked him what they needed to do to avoid sitting in the same cage as Khodorkovsky. From what followed, it appeared that Putin’s answer was, “50%” He wasn’t saying 50% for the Russian government or the presidential administration of Russia, but 50% for Vladimir Putin personally.”

On top of all this, the famous Panama Papers revealed a network of secret offshore deals and loans worth $2 billion pointing to Putin in 2016.

But of course, Vladimir denies all these allegations, only admitting to a different form of riches:

“I am the wealthiest man, not just in Europe but in the whole world: I collect emotions. I am wealthy in that the people of Russia have twice entrusted me with the leadership of a great nation such as Russia. I believe that is my greatest wealth.”

And despite all the paper trails and testimonies stacked against him, the Russian president continues his charade of being a dutiful bureaucrat with a simple, middle-class lifestyle.

(https://fortune.com/2022/03/02/vladimir-putin-net-worth-2022/)

Thus, although this leader may have caused many billions of dollars in damage thus far, perhaps Putin could pay for the damage. The question that comes to mind is this: Is he willing to repent? And is the country (Putin and the military) that has followed him willing to repent? In other words, is Russia and Putin himself willing to repent and seek to make things “right” to the extent of their ability? We have heard that tens of millions of citizens are behind this evil man which would mean that they also must be willing to come to repentance and seek to make things right! If they support and endorse this murder, robbery, fraud, and all sorts of evil, they too are guilty in God’s sight.

We propose: Let this man stop all of his mayhem right now. Next, let Putin repent of all of this evil. Next, let him lead his country to repentance. (Of course, with the help of God and the Bible!) Let Putin sell off all of his wealth (all of the billions!) and begin to make reparations also. Let the country of Russia make reparations for the damage that they have done!

Further, we would hope that there would be some way that 200 million Russian men would be able to take away the debris, erect buildings, and seek to undo the damage that they have caused. Let the businesses, the industries, the buildings, the roads and streets be rebuilt, the ships and plants be restored, and let so much more be done to indicate repentance! We don’t know whether the 600 billion in dollars would be enough for this or not but it would be a beginning. Many billions of dollars would need to be given.  (Or could it be trillions by now?)

From our reckoning, this would mean that $3,000 would need to be paid for every man, woman, and child. If we find a family of five, this would mean that $15,000 would need to be paid to Ukraine. We know that this would be difficult indeed but it would need to be done to show a willingness to repent and make restitution. What do you think?

No, we doubt that any of this would be done. Yet it should be. And in the sight of God our Creator it needs to be. A million years from now, Putin, Russia, and all (including the Ukraine) will wish that they had all repented and come to God for His forgiveness.

 

 

 

 

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