Putin has no problem with high earnings of his subordinates — press secretary

Russia April 15, 2015, 15:57

Russian President Vladimir Putin earned a little over $147,000 in 2014

MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin calmly treats the fact that many officials, both in the government and Kremlin administration, earn more than the head of state, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Answering a journalist’s question on whether Putin is discontent with this fact, Peskov said: "No." "Everyone has different incomes, everyone’s past is different," the spokesman noted. "Some people worked in business, some of them have bank accounts from back then, something else, some means, incomes," he noted.

"That’s why everyone has a different situation and one shouldn’t try to compare," Peskov said. "The main thing is that it is all in line with the law and declared properly," he noted.

Today, Kremlin and government officials published their income declarations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earned 7.65 million rubles ( a little over $147,000 at current exchange rate) in 2014, twice as much as in 2013, according to his tax declaration published on the Kremlin’s website.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s income doubled in 2014. Medvedev earned around 8 million rubles (a little over $153,000), which is 3.8 million rubles ($73,000) more than in 2013, when he earned around 4.3 million rubles ($82,7532).

The richest official in the Russian government is Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin who earned 280 million rubles ($5.4 million). Minister for Open Government affairs Mikhail Abyzov, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov and Deputy Prime-Minister, presidential representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev are also high on the list earning respectively 222 million ($4.2 million), 113 million ($2.1 million) and 179.5 million ($3.4 million) rubles.

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