Let us examine carefully, which benefits were taken away from the main categories of citizens.
Which benefits were taken away from the veterans:
The new legislation defining the measures of social support to the veterans lacks the reminder that they can have tax benefits. The right to establish the benefits for the residential services was transferred by the federal authorities to the regional ones. The new law about the veterans lacks the reminder of their right to credits for acquiring apartments, houses and garden lots. War veterans are left without the right to free telephone installation and the 50% payment of the telephone, radio and collective TV antenna. Single war invalids and blockade veterans are now left without the right to a 50% reduction of security service. War veterans can use free tickets to sanatoriums not more than once a year and only on medical prescription. They now do not have the possibility to receive monetary compensations once in two years if they do not receive the tickets. The veterans are left without the right to a free car and the possibility to receive compensations for gas and technical service or a compensation for transport services.
The monetization of benefits for the handicapped:
The State freed itself from the responsibility to assist the citizens who support individuals needing constant care. Now the list of the social services for the elderly or the handicapped will be defined by the regional authorities and not the federal ones. The handicapped have lost the right to free specialized help, including dental help. The necessity to take in account the opinion of organizations of handicapped during the construction of buildings is removed. The quota for employing handicapped people is established for organizations that have over 100 employees and not 30 like before. The demand that the handicapped receive household items and other means necessary for social adaptation for free is removed. Not only the handicapped, but also the people who accompany them are left without the right to free or reduced-cost public transportation.
Which main benefits are taken away from the military and FSB employees:
The right to free transportation on all public transport is removed. The military, military pensioners and family members are left without the right to acquire products at reduced cost through the network of military trade. Monetary compensations instead of the food and uniform rations will not be defined by their cost. The method of granting loans for first necessity items is changed. Now the loans are defined by the government. The military of the permanent readiness units will not demand additional leisure time that compensates their service on top of their weekly service time. The military doing their service in conflict zones, including in Chechnya have lost the right to 15 additional days to their annual vacation and to 10 days for each 3 months of service in state of emergency and armed conflicts. The right of the militaries doing their service in conflict zones to receive a monetary compensation instead of a ticket to a sanatorium has been removed. Earlier the difference between the cost of keeping the children of the military in pre-school institutions and the amount the parents paid was compensated. Now they receive payments established by the Minister of defense. Medical help to family members of officers will not be free now, but defined by the government. From now on the military and their families will be only provided with a residence, which they will not be able to privatize. There will be no 75-100% subsidies for residences that the military that have served for over 10 years could acquire by joining a cooperative or building a house themselves. Besides the local authorities do not have to provide the military with the opportunity to join cooperatives or provide them with land for construction. The citizens who became handicapped during their service are left without the right to receive a credit for the construction of a house and acquire household items. The military who served for over 10-15 years are left without the right to free land lots and those who served over 20 years are left without the right to be freed from local taxes.
Which benefits were taken away from the students and teachers.
The students studying in middle or specialized professional institutions:
1. The students are left without the right to a reduced fare in public transport, food and sanatorium care. The laws about the social support to students are far less clear now. The State declined its responsibility to allocate sums for socio-cultural activities to education institutions.
2. The law now lacks even the reminder of the students’ right to free railroad transportation once a year.
3. The students of non-governmental institutions are denied of all the benefits, which were used by students of governmental institutions. The local authorities establish the amount of social guarantees for the students.
4. The State relieved itself from the responsibility to “totally compensate the inflation growth of expenses for the food and health of the students.”
5. The mention about a special system of crediting in the form of a personal social educational credit, which is created for the organization of the social support of students who study in institutions of professional and middle education has disappeared from the law on education.
6. The State relieved itself from the responsibility to put quotas on work posts in enterprises for graduates of educational institutions.
7. Enterprises, institutions and organizations whose employees go to school are not freed from taxes on the amount that they spend on these employees.
Which benefits were taken away from the students:
1. The State refused to compensate the expenses for education in non-governmental general education institutions.
2. The obligation to finance special (correctional) educational institutions for children and teenagers with deficits was removed. The same fate occurred to the educational institutions for children with exceptional capacities.
Which benefits were taken away from the teachers:
1. The State decided to relieve itself from the responsibilities, which it actually never fulfilled, in relation to the teachers’ salary. Their minimal wage rates should have exceeded the level of the average salary in Russia and the average wage rate should have exceeded the average salary in the industry. Also, the mention that the minimal wage rates for pedagogic employees from higher education institutions should not be lower than 8 times the minimal salary and the necessity to index them at each quarter were removed.