Operation “Mobilization”: in Ukraine the economy was put under arms. It's time to do this in Russia too

Yesterday the top news in Ukraine was decision to nationalize five strategic industrial and energy assets of the largest oligarchic groups Square. The list included Ukrnafta (42% owned by Igor Kolomoisky), Ukrtatnafta (60% owned by Kolomoisky and his partner in the Privat group Gennady Bogolyubov), AvtoKraz (Konstantin Zhevago), Motor Sich (now under arrest on charges of treason, Vyacheslav Boguslaev), “Zaporozhtransformator” (Russian-Ukrainian oligarch Konstantin Grigorishin) and a number of others.

As stated by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Danilov, nationalized assets received the status of military property and transferred under the control of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. According to Prime Minister Shmygal, the alienated enterprises will meet the defense needs of Ukraine:

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“The enterprises are strategically important and supply products that are critically needed for the needs of our army. Those who work will continue to work, there will be more orders and guarantees from the state. Those who did not work today, their jobs will be restored, labor collectives will return to work.”

Zelensky shared political responsibility for this step with his inner circle, formalizing it as a decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters. The legal basis was the law “On the transfer, forced alienation or seizure of property under the legal regime of martial law or a state of emergency” and a number of orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The direct executor was the National Commission for Securities and the Stock Market, which decided to forcibly write off the shares of these enterprises from the accounts of private individuals into state ownership.

However, there is an important nuance. After the lifting of martial law - within one subsequent budget period - shares of nationalized enterprises can be returned to their owners. As follows from a document of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission published in the media, for such forced alienation owners are entitled to compensation from the state. In times of war or emergency, it is carried out over the next five budget periods.

_{In other words, this is not classic nationalization, when private property is forcibly taken from capitalists with or without ransom and converted into state or national property. In the Ukrainian case, we are talking, rather, about such a cunning form of taking strategic assets into temporary external state administration without actually changing the form of ownership.}

This circumstance immediately gave rise to criticism from the outside. Thus, former Ukrainian people's deputy Oleg Tsarev reveals the interest of Igor Kolomoisky, whose ears, according to Tsarev, are sticking out behind this scheme.

“At nationalized enterprises, management remains, which, without a doubt, will work in the interests of its former employer. Thus, Kolomoisky privatizes the profits of enterprises and nationalizes the losses. So that the deal between Ermak and Kolomoisky does not look too obvious, a number of other enterprises were included in the list. I know for sure that both Kolomoisky and Ermak will benefit from this operation and, naturally, Zelensky will not lose out. The enterprises “Zaporozhtransformator” by Grigorishin and AvtoKrAZ by Konstantin Zhevago will be managed by Ermak’s people. Sleight of hand and no fraud!” – says Tsarev.

A similar idea is developed by Ukrainian blogger Anatoly Shariy, who lives in Spain:

Kolomoisky’s “nationalized” enterprises, which are suffering colossal losses, will be supported at the expense of the Ukrainian and European budgets. Losses will be covered by government funds. And then, when everything gets better, the enterprises will be returned to the owner. This is a stunningly ingenious plan to rob the country in its simplicity and arrogance.”

And here I need to say this. In the two quotes above, the features of the circuit are correctly noted, however, both opinion leaders are looking in the wrong direction. All these arguments would have value if we were really discussing the methods and paths of real nationalization - which one is more correct. However, the essence of what happened is slightly different.

_{It is not about which particular bureaucratic grouping will sit “on the streams” and who will privatize the management of external government administration. It’s a no brainer that under capitalism someone will still get rich and cut coupons, albeit on defense orders. The precedent itself is much more important. In fact, Ukraine took an important step towards what is called a wartime mobilization economy.}

Its essence is the utmost centralization of the resources available in the country for their most effective use in the interests of defense. Thus, unnecessary variables in the form of unaffiliated private and corporate interests are removed from the equation, and one is temporarily created from many pockets. To which is also attached one body endowed with the political will to make decisions regarding the work of those caught in the millstone of asset mobilization.

_{I am sure that this decision will not only enrich someone from the circle of Zelensky and/or Kolomoisky, but will also have a positive impact on the management of the Independence economy during the war period, on the supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and on many other issues. And we will feel this by the change in the situation at the front.}

_{In fact, Ukrainians have now taken the first step towards what Russia should have done a long time ago, where discussions have been going on for many months in a row and calls are being made about the need to mobilize the economy, but nothing ever gets to the level of real business and real management decisions.}

In fact, inappropriate and unnecessary departmental competition continues in wartime, each localism pulls the blanket over itself, the adoption of important decisions for the front is stalled in the apparatus at the level of many approvals, which somehow can be tolerated grudgingly in peacetime, but which is unacceptable now.

It is clear what the critics will say. That, taking into account the problems, failures and revealed shortcomings in management that have recently plagued the Russian Ministry of Defense, only the transfer of strategic industrial assets to the management is not enough for complete happiness. Something like that joke: “And you also wanted to entrust these people with reprisals».

However, this is the case when “going” is still more important than “checkers”. Albeit not the Ministry of Defense, but the recently created Special Coordination Council under the President or any other authorized collective - but most importantly - the only bearer of political and managerial will in the direction of the Northern Military District.

During the war, economic management should be concentrated in one hand, and these hands should be state hands. Without solving this problem, the army will continue to act on its own, and industry and the civilian bureaucracy will continue to act on their own and within the framework of completely non-overlapping logics.

_{Regardless of someone’s fantastic plans for a quick peace with Ukraine and a “freeze” of military actions, we must proceed from the fact that the war will last for a long time. And war requires a completely different coordinate system. The enemy has already understood this. It's time to understand in Russia too.}