Ex-Russian Finance Minister Zadornov: Military Economy Impossible, Signals Elite Dissent

Mikhail Zadornov, Russia's finance minister in the late 1990s and former head of Otkritie Bank, publicly stated that transforming Russia's economy into a military one is 'impossible' and represents a 'complete breakdown of the system.' This rare public criticism from a former senior economic official signals growing elite concern over the sustainability of Russia's war-driven economic model, though Zadornov is not currently in power and his influence is limited.