The Russian economy risks going into a kind of "wilderness mode" if it is completely subordinated to the needs of the military-industrial complex, warned Boris Titov, President Vladimir Putin's special representative for relations with international organizations on issues of sustainable development, quoted by "Reuters".
Titov's statement to the Russian business publication RBC is an unusual public signal of concern from a person close to the Kremlin about the growing pressure of the war in Ukraine on the slowing Russian economy.
"The military and civilian economies have always and everywhere existed in symbiosis. Many technical inventions useful to everyone originated precisely in the military-industrial complex. The key is to maintain balance," Titov said.
He warned against a model in which virtually all economic resources are directed towards achieving military goals.
"This is no longer an economy at all, but a kind of "wilderness regime" that can only exist for a very limited time and the need for it must be assessed extremely carefully," Titov said.
RBK notes that the term he used comes from the berserkers in Scandinavian lore - warriors who, according to legend, fell into a state of rage that allowed them to fight fiercely and without feeling pain.
Titov made his comments just before a major economic forum in Vladivostok this week, which Putin is expected to attend.
Boris Titov is a wealthy Russian entrepreneur and former owner of one of the country's leading sparkling wine producers. For years, he headed an influential business organization, and in 2018 he ran for president. In 2024, Putin appointed him his special representative for relations with international organizations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The warning comes against the backdrop of the increasing reorientation of the Russian economy towards the needs of the war. Moscow has raised taxes, undertaken a large-scale redistribution of property, encouraged businesses to help finance the war effort, and recently threatened sanctions on business owners who they say are not doing enough to protect their facilities from Ukrainian drones.
Hardliners and some government officials often point to the restructuring of the Soviet economy under Joseph Stalin during World War II and the slogan of the time, "Everything for the front, everything for victory".
However, such an approach is facing cautious but growing resistance from some of Russia's political and economic elite.
Last month, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also issued an unusually stark warning about the state of the economy.
"Killing the normal economy is tantamount to killing the entire country," Sobyanin said at the time.
Andrey Klepach, chief economist at the state bank for VEB development, lost his post in August after he publicly addressed the economic problems caused by the prolonged war.
The Russian economy is expected to grow by just 0.4% in 2026, with a number of sectors outside military production already stagnating or shrinking.
Additional pressure is being exerted by Ukrainian attacks on economic infrastructure. In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up strikes on Russian oil refineries, warehouses and logistics centers, as well as infrastructure used to export oil and grain. Continued attacks could further dampen economic growth.
Titov's warning comes just weeks before parliamentary elections in Russia. The only political party that openly called for an end to the war was not allowed to participate in the vote.
Social surveys show growing fatigue among Russians from the four-and-a-half-year-long war and increasing support for a peaceful settlement.
At the same time, rumors are circulating in Russia that after the elections, the authorities may announce a new large-scale mobilization for a final major attempt to seize the entire territory of Donbas. The Kremlin rejects these claims as fabrications.