Russia's VEB.RF Fires Chief Economist Andrei Klepach
Russia's state development bank VEB.RF has fired Chief Economist Andrei Klepach.
Previously, he publicly stated at a May forum that Russia cannot win this war of attrition, and expecting the opponent to collapse is merely a fantasy.
He claimed that Russia is not only lagging behind China and the U.S., but in some aspects is even losing to Ukraine, warning that a social crisis could erupt when people are unprepared, comparing it to the 1917 revolution and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
His remarks were widely reported by Russian media, and he was dismissed the day after.
Insiders revealed that the chairman of VEB.RF took action after receiving a "call from above."
In market mechanisms, the event has driven a tightening of the official narrative in Russia: public questioning of the economic costs of the war is quickly suppressed, further reinforcing internal loyalty requirements, and risk aversion among relevant institutions is increasing.
Additionally, it is noted that Klepach had held the position since 2014, previously serving in the Ministry of Economic Development for ten years.
Source: Public information
ABAB AI Insight
Klepach has long served in official economic institutions in Russia and was known for macroeconomic forecasting. His statements in May were a rare public acknowledgment by senior officials of the state development bank regarding the costs of war and technological lag.
The dismissal was directly intervened by higher-ups, shifting resources from professional assessment to political loyalty, motivated by the need to maintain the official narrative of "war sustainability" and to prevent the spread of internal dissent.
Similar cases can be seen where other Russian officials have been swiftly dealt with for publicly criticizing economic policies or the costs of war, reflecting a historical disconnect between economic realities and official discourse in the late Soviet period; currently, the space for internal dissent is further narrowing under prolonged warfare.
The structural judgment indicates a regulatory change: publicly acknowledging the disadvantages of a war of attrition triggers immediate personnel purges, linking discussions of economic facts directly to political loyalty, thereby strengthening top-down narrative control.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
Publicly admitting defeat is more dangerous than economic backwardness.
The truth of the war of attrition is first suppressed internally.
Loyalty requirements will ultimately outweigh professional assessments.