The authors of the piece describe the war against Ukraine as part of a broader model in which large-scale extraction and export of raw materials are combined with authoritarian governance. This refers to an economy built on oil, gas, coal, metals and timber, with limited processing and low added value.
According to this assessment, the Russian authorities make intensive use of natural resources, yet the revenues from their sale are distributed unevenly. Instead of being invested in social policy and improving living standards, a significant share of the money is said to go toward enriching elites, financing the military-industrial complex and sustaining repression.
The text also argues that the war itself is used as a tool for concentrating power and justifying repression. In this system, the report’s authors say, authoritarianism helps preserve the extractivist model and protect the interests of privileged groups.
After the start of the war, the article says, up to 40% of the budget began going to military-industrial needs. At the same time, spending on several environmental programs was reduced. In particular, funding for the Clean Air project, aimed at cutting pollution in industrial cities, fell by nearly 50%.
A similar reduction affected the federal Clean Country project, which focuses on eliminating accumulated environmental damage: according to the cited figures, its budget was cut by almost 30%.
These developments are taking place amid technological decline. According to Rosstat, more than 50% of production assets, including machinery, equipment and roads, are fully worn out. At the same time, sanctions and economic uncertainty affected corporate policy: in 2022, about 40% of Russian companies reduced spending on sustainable development and revised their ESG commitments.
The report’s authors warn that this model poses risks not only to Russia’s own future. In their view, it also undermines global stability by accelerating the climate crisis and contributing to further biodiversity loss.