russian Regions Are Cutting Bonuses for Recruiters Due to Budget Shortages

Some russian regions spend amounts comparable to social program funding on rewards for military recruiters. moscow allowed such payments in the summer of 2024, but only at the expense of local budgets. To fulfill the kremlin’s plans, officials are cutting social spending and reserve funds.

Saratov region has become the leader in terms of payments – from the summer of 2024 to October 2025, it allocated about 400 million rubles to bonuses for recruiters, which is equivalent to the region’s spending on a program to resettle people from emergency housing.

In Ulyanovsk region, 373 million rubles were paid for recruiting 1,864 contract soldiers – almost as much as the region spends on monthly bonuses for rural teachers. Smolensk region allocated 163 million rubles for 1,664 recruits, which is equal to its annual budget for supporting the unemployed.

Regions are also introducing differentiated rates: in Ryazan region, recruiters receive 574,000 rubles for a foreigner, 80,000 for a migrant from CIS countries, and only 57,000 for a local resident.

The deficit in russian budgets at all levels has made harsh adjustments to military recruitment in the rf. To date, at least seven federal subjects have reduced payments for sending people to war: Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Mari El, Nizhny Novgorod and Ulyanovsk regions, as well as the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Saratov region, which was the “leader” in bonuses for recruiters, was also the first out of all regions to cancel early, from October 28, the payments under the “Send a friend to war” program.