Putin Risks Public Wrath Over Extending Draft, Doubling War Budget

More than one third of Russia’s budget is now being spent on defense, it has been reported, as the cost of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to the country’s finances and population continues to spiral.

On the heels of legislation to expand the pool of those eligible for military service, which includes raising the maximum age for conscription from 27 to 30, a government document has revealed that Moscow has doubled its 2023 defense spending target to over $100 billion.

Details on expenditure for each sector of the Russia economy are no longer published, but figures reported by Reuters showed that defense spending in the first six months of 2023 was 5.59 trillion rubles, ($58 billion) or 37.3 percent of a total 14.97 trillion rubles spent in that period.

In the first half of this year, Moscow spent 12 percent, or 600 billion rubles, ($6.25 billion) more on defense than the nearly five trillion ($54 billion) it had originally planned to spend in the entire year of 2023.

Reuters also reported that the document estimated annual defence spending of 9.7 trillion rubles ($101 billion),or one third of the total spending target of 29.05 trillion rubles ($303 billion)—the highest proportion of Russia’s budget spent on the military in at least the last decade.

A boost in industrial production from the war is helping Russia’s modest economic recovery this year but the budget deficit is around $28 billion, impacted in part by falling export revenues.

As Moscow spends more on defense for its invasion of Ukraine, the deficit could increase further, while increased output could cannibalize other sectors and hurt private investment, the agency reported. Newsweek has contacted the Russian finance ministry for comment.

Putin is expected to stand for re-election in 2024 in the tightly controlled political environment of Russia at a time when its citizens will continue to feel the impact of his war, compounded by sanctions, and the mobilization of troops.

Before lawmakers raised the maximum conscription age, all healthy men in Russia aged between 18 and 27 had to serve one year of compulsory military service.

The Russian parliament has also passed a bill that from October 1, men could face a 10-fold increase in fines to 30,000 rubles ($315) if they fail to show up at an enlistment office after receiving a draft notice.

There was a mass exodus of men from Russia after Putin announced last September a partial mobilization drive aimed at boosting his forces by 300,000. Since then a digital conscription system has allowed call-up papers to be issued online, making it harder for people to avoid joining the army. Now a new law prohibits conscripts from leaving the country once they receive their summons.