Enlistment rates for the Russian army dropped by 20 percent in August
Between January and August, 234,000 Russian citizens signed military contracts with the Ministry of Defence, marking a 10% decrease compared to the same period last year. This slowdown occurred despite record-high regional bonuses offered for deployment to the frontline. This is reported by the portal PromPolitInform, citing the Telegram channel of The Moscow Times, based on data from Janis Kluge.
According to calculations by Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, the total number of new contract soldiers decreased by 26,000 people. In August, the decline reached 20%, even though the average regional lump-sum payment for a new contract approached nearly 1.8 million rubles. The highest payout is currently offered in Volgograd Oblast, reaching 3.4 million rubles.
To meet recruitment quotas issued from the Kremlin, regional budgets are forced to cut civilian spending. For instance, the authorities in Yakutia announced the postponement of wage indexation for public sector workers due to unexpected military expenditures, while the governor of Volgograd Oblast cancelled an annual youth festival to save funds.
Financing bonuses for new contract soldiers has become increasingly difficult for Russian regions amid growing budget deficits. Last year, the regions closed with a record deficit of 1.5 trillion rubles, which could reach 2 trillion rubles this year, according to a forecast by Sberbank’s Center for Macroeconomic Research.
Despite lagging behind last year’s figures, the Russian army continues to attract approximately 1,000 new fighters every day. However, current recruitment rates remain higher than in 2024, when fewer than 200,000 people had signed contracts by early September.
Illustrative photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg / CC BY 4.0
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