Russia plans to spend almost $167 billion on the army in 2026

Russia has approved the federal budget for 2026. Over the past two weeks, the document has passed through both chambers of parliament, and has now been signed by the illegitimate President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.

According to the document, the Kremlin expects to collect 40.27 trillion rubles ($518.9 billion) in revenue next year, while spending will amount to 44.06 trillion rubles ($567.8 billion). The resulting deficit will amount to about 1.6% of the country's total GDP.

Russia plans to spend record amounts on the war with Ukraine. Thus, almost 30% of the budget (12.93 trillion rubles or $166.8 billion) will be allocated to the army, including weapons purchases. As The Moscow Times notes, this is a record military spending since the times of the USSR.

However, that's not all. About 3.91 trillion rubles ($50.4 billion) are allocated to the "national security" item, which finances the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Russian National Guard, special services, and the penitentiary system. All of these agencies, to varying degrees, are also involved in the aggression against Ukraine.

The total Russian budget spending on the army and law enforcement agencies will amount to 16.84 trillion rubles ($217.2 billion), or 38% of the budget. For comparison, in 2021, when the Russian Federation was already preparing for an attack, this figure was (24%).

Of course, this increase in military spending is possible only at the expense of a reduction in the share of other expenses. Thus, the share of social spending in the Russian budget fell from a pre-war 38% to 25% the following year. Expenditures on supporting the economy fell from 17.6% to 10.9%. In both cases, these are the lowest figures in at least the last 20 years.

It should be added that Russia finances its aggression against Ukraine not only through direct spending on the army and security forces. A significant part of the costs is borne by local budgets of the regions, which, for example, cover part of the payments to contract soldiers who go to the front.