The Russian leadership is trying to attract more volunteers for its war against Ukraine by offering would-be soldiers more money.
A decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday states that each person who signs a contract for deployment at the front between August 1 and December 31 will receive a one-time payment of 400,000 roubles (around $4,650), which is more than double the previous payment of 195,000 roubles. Additionally, a monthly salary significantly above the average Russian income is being offered.
Since Russia began a forced conscription of reservists as part of a controversial mobilization in autumn 2022, it has primarily relied on financial incentives to recruit soldiers for the war. Many regions are offering their own monetary bonuses for signing a contract.
For example, the city of Moscow set a one-time premium of 1.9 million roubles ($22,000) this month for contracts lasting one year or longer. Several regions have increased their special payments in recent weeks to stand out in the national comparison when recruiting new fighters.
In St Petersburg, the one-time amount is 1.8 million roubles, in the Rostov region it is 1.2 million roubles, and in the Sverdlovsk area by the Urals, it is the 400,000 roubles recommended by the Kremlin as the minimum sum.
In Moscow and other Russian cities, posters are advertising deployment at the front – with the attractive sums often on display. Since many people, especially in the provinces, earn very little, a war deployment is seen as a relatively easy way to quickly earn a significant amount of money by Russian standards.
The Defence Ministry announced this month that 190,000 Russians have signed contracts for war deployment since the beginning of the year.
In autumn 2022, a forced conscription of reservists ordered by Putin triggered protests and a wave of emigration abroad. The power apparatus is therefore trying to solve the personnel problem of reinforcements for the front with money.
