For the first time in 7 years, Russia will spend more on supporting the economy than on defense

Next year, Russia will spend less on defense than on the national economy, follows from federal budget spending in 2021. And defense spending in relation to GDP will drop to a minimum since 2011, writes RBC.

Next year, Russian budget spending on defense will amount to 3.11 trillion rubles, which is 200 billion rubles less than it is planned to spend this year. Next year, they plan to spend 3.37 billion rubles on the economy. The economy will cost the budget more than defense for the first time since 2014.

Spending on the national economy will increase by 19% compared to what was planned before the pandemic. This includes increased spending on roads, space, subsidies to agricultural equipment manufacturers, leasing companies and air carriers, and incentives for small businesses.

Spending on supporting the economy may overtake the defense industry this year, if we sum up the anti-crisis spending that goes through the government's reserve fund, which also relates to the budget.