Some Russian regions are cutting bonuses for military recruiters due to budget shortfalls.
Certain regions have been spending amounts on recruiter rewards comparable to funding social programs. Moscow allowed such payments in summer 2024, but only from local budgets. To meet Kremlin targets, officials are reducing social spending and tapping reserve funds.
Saratov region led in payouts – from summer 2024 to October 2025, it allocated about 400 million rubles in recruiter bonuses, roughly equal to the region’s spending on its emergency housing relocation program.
In Ulyanovsk region, 373 million rubles were paid for recruiting 1,864 contract soldiers – almost as much as the region spends on monthly allowances for rural teachers. Smolensk region allocated 163 million rubles for 1,664 recruits, matching its annual budget for supporting the unemployed.
Regions are also introducing differential rates: in Ryazan region, recruiters receive 574,000 rubles for a foreign recruit, 80,000 for a migrant from a CIS country, and only 57,000 for a local resident.
Budget deficits across Russia have forced major adjustments in military recruiting. At least seven federal subjects have cut payments for sending recruits to the war: Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Mari El, Nizhny Novgorod, Ulyanovsk regions, and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The “front-runner” for recruiter bonuses, Saratov region, was the first to cancel the “Send a Comrade to War” program early, as of October 28.
