Average Regional Payment for Russian Ministry of Defense Contracts Quadruples Since Start of Year

47 Russian regions have increased payments for contracting with the Defense Ministry after President Putin raised the federal payment and recommended that regions offer new contract workers at least 400,000 rubles, according to calculations by "Important Stories".

In August this year, the average one-time regional payment reached 596,000 rubles (about $6500). In the first eight months of the year, it has already increased 3.6 times (up from 168,000 rubles or about $1,800 at the end of 2023). With the federal payment of 400,000 rubles (about $4,400) included, a new contract serviceman will receive an average of nearly 1 million rubles upon joining (about $10,970).

How We Calculated

We only included one-time payments from regional budgets in our calculations. We did not consider municipal payments, regional payments from non-budgetary sources (like funds in Kaliningrad or Leningrad regions), or regular payments (such as 50,000 rubles per month for service from Moscow authorities). The data is accurate as of August 19, 2024.

In 15 regions, the regional payment alone has reached or exceeded 1 million rubles. The highest payments are in Moscow (1.9 million rubles, or about $20,800) and St. Petersburg (1.7 million rubles, or about $18,650). With the federal payment, new contract servicemen in about one-third of Russian regions will receive 1 million rubles or more. In three regions—Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Karachay-Cherkessia—contract servicemen will receive a total of 2 million rubles (or about $21,900) or more.

Only in 11 Russian regions is the lump-sum payment lower than the 400,000 rubles recommended by Putin. In Pskov and Karelia, there is no regional lump sum at all: residents who join the military receive only the federal lump sum payment.

In all Russian regions where a lump-sum payment from the regional budget is provided, it is several times higher than the average monthly income. The largest discrepancy is in Karachay-Cherkessia, where the regional payment (1.6 million rubles or about $17,500) exceeds the average income (23,400 rubles or about $256) by 68 times.

Despite assurances from Russian authorities about a constant influx of contract recruits, the Russian army has struggled to make up for its losses. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that at least 640,000 people have been contracted since fall 2022. However, "Important Stories" and the "Conflict Intelligence Team", based on federal budget data, estimate there could be 214,000 fewer new contract workers. Only 426,000 Russians received payments for signing a contract during this period.

Regional authorities are failing to meet more than a third of the recruitment quotas, Bloomberg reported, citing sources in the Kremlin and the Defense Ministry. Amid the offensive by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk Region, the shortage of personnel may lead the Russian authorities to consider mobilization again if Russians do not voluntarily enlist for sums starting at 1 million rubles.

"Verstka" reported that interest in contract service has been declining throughout the year. However, after the increase in payments for recruits in Moscow, the number of volunteers has tripled. Nevertheless, the majority of Moscow contract servicemen are residents of other Russian regions or foreigners.

According to a source of "Important Stories", in 2023, the regions managed to meet only 50-60% of their recruitment targets. This year, the recruitment rate is higher, but they are still struggling to keep up due to irreplaceable losses. Read more here.