Andrey Klepach, chief economist at Russia’s state development bank VEB.RF, has been removed from his position after warning publicly that the war in Ukraine was placing growing pressure on Russia’s economy.
Russian state news agency TASS reported that Klepach was no longer serving as the bank’s chief economist. VEB.RF confirmed that a successor would soon be appointed, while Klepach also confirmed his dismissal to Reuters.
Klepach, who had held the position since 2014, reportedly made the critical remarks during an economic forum in May. His comments became public last week.
He warned that Russia was falling behind its global competitors in both technological and economic development, arguing that the country was facing increasing costs from the prolonged war.
“We are falling behind. We are losing both the technological and economic competition in the world,” Klepach said, according to reports of his speech.
He also cautioned that Russia would not necessarily prevail in what he described as a war of attrition, saying the country’s costs were continuing to rise and warning that economic difficulties could eventually trigger a social crisis.
Klepach further said that Western financial support for Ukraine was strengthening Kyiv’s ability to withstand the war. He also pointed to rising income inequality and slower economic growth compared with countries including the United States and Ukraine.
His remarks represented a rare public criticism from a senior economic figure working at a Russian state institution of the long-term economic consequences of the war, which Moscow launched against Ukraine in 2022.
Klepach had previously worked for about a decade at Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development before joining VEB and had held several positions within the country’s economic institutions.
He also criticised the quality of governance in Russia, arguing that decisions were increasingly being made without sufficient justification despite having potentially serious long-term consequences.
The Russian central bank said in June that the country’s economy might record little or no growth this year, while President Vladimir Putin has continued to insist that Russia’s economy remains stable despite Western sanctions and other external pressures.
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