Russia should nationalize main parts of its economy to boost war efforts, says Kremlin law enforcement official

• The head of Russia's federal crime agency said key parts of the economy should be nationalized.
• State ownership would support Russia's war efforts against Ukraine, Alexander Bastrykin said, per Reuters.

Key parts of Russia's economy should fall back under state command to support Moscow's war efforts against Ukraine, according to Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia's federal crime agency.

Bastrykin, who leads the Investigative Committee chief and reports directly to President Vladimir Putin, suggested as much during a Saturday video conference, per Reuters.

"We are essentially talking about economic security in a war," he said. "Let's go along the path of nationalizing the main sectors of our economy."

To be sure, large swaths of the economy are effectively under the Kremlin's control already. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia attempted a slate of privatizations across the economy in the 1990s.

So-called oligarchs then found themselves with some of Russia's most valuable assets, but many later ended up selling them or ceding control back to the state under Putin.

Indeed, Gazprom, the nation's largest natural gas firm, is state-run, while oil giant Rosneft is helmed by Putin-ally Igor Sechin.

Since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its economy has been dramatically weakened and reshaped.

Most of the country's revenue has long relied on energy production and oil exports, but the West has targeted the sector with sanctions over the last year.

Meanwhile, direct trade between the euro area and Russia has cratered, with European Central Bank calculations showing that volumes have been cut in half compared to pre-war levels.

Moscow has largely pivoted to shipping oil to China and India, who together now take up the majority of Russia's exports.

Despite official statistics indicating the Russian economy has been resilient in the face of sanctions, other signs have pointed to freefall.

The Russian economy is struggling through a record worker shortage, according to a central bank survey last month.

Russia's economy is becoming increasingly primitive as its war in Ukraine drags on, University of Chicago professor Konstantin Sonin said recently. And an adviser to Finland's central bank said Russia is experiencing "reverse industrialization."