The Russian president Vladimir Putin doubled the advance payments to volunteers to fight in Ukraine, in a move aimed at easing conscription but likely to create imbalances in an overheated economy.
All Russians who sign contracts with the military will now receive an advance payment of 400,000 rubles ($4,651). With the minimum monthly payment for private participation in the “special military operation,” as Russia calls it, set at 204,000 rubles, the new decree raises the minimum annual earnings for the first year of service to 3.25 million rubles ( 37,791 dollars).
Monthly salaries for officers are higher and depend on their rank. All conscripts will also receive additional money for participating in attacks or destroying armored and other enemy equipment.
Earlier this month, Moscow’s mayor earmarked an advance payment for city residents enlisting to fight in Ukraine of 1.9 million rubles ($21,777) from the city budget, raising the annual salary for the first year of service to 5.2 million rubles.
The latest increases mean that the minimum annual payment for Russian soldiers contracted to fight in Ukraine will exceed the average wage in Russia by at least three times, with the minimum pay for Muscovites at least five times the average wage.
Such payments have helped Russia avoid a new nationwide conscription after the 2022 campaign, which has led to a mass exodus of military-age citizens to neighboring countries. However, some economists argue that these payments create a wage spiral in the economy.
The wage increases are also supported by a number of other measures, such as exemptions from monthly interest payments on consumer loans for volunteers and government guarantees for such loans in the event of death.
Such measures encourage future volunteers to take out consumer loans and have contributed to continued growth in consumer credit, despite the fact that the central bank has raised its key interest rate.
Russian officials say about 190,000 people have volunteered since the start of the year to fight in Ukraine, compared with 490,000 contracts signed in 2023.
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