The Kremlin has decided to publicly blame the west for a forthcoming tax rise to spare Vladimir Putin from criticism that his war economy is starting to hurt ordinary Russians.
The Russian president’s top officials, including domestic policy chief Sergei Kirienko, participated in at least one of the meetings on how to divert blame for the economic hardship.
The meetings took place in the run-up to Russia’s new budget law, which was introduced in late September and passed its third reading on Thursday, said two people familiar with the discussions.
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