Soldiers from Moscow will now earn almost £50,000 for their first year of service, the city has announced, about four times the average annual wage.
The increased payment – which includes sign-up bonuses, monthly wages and regional handouts – is part of the Kremlin’s drive to find the 25,000 men a month it needs to sustain Russia’s front-line force in Ukraine.
“The total amount of payments to a contract serviceman (taking into account monthly salary and Moscow and federal support measures) will exceed 5.2 million rubles [£46,147] for the first year of service,” Moscow’s city administration said in an announcement on Tuesday.
The scheme includes a one-time payment of 1.9 million rubles (£16,863) that is only available to residents of the Russian capital.
The growing incentives being offered to serve in Ukraine are widely seen as an attempt by Vladimir Putin to avoid a nationwide mobilisation, which would be hugely unpopular.
His 2022 conscription drive saw almost one million people flee Russia to neighbouring countries to avoid being called up.
The increased payments will only be available for new recruits who pass selection after July 23.
Moscow officials also confirmed they would maintain previously agreed support schemes, including a monthly payment of 50,000 rubles (£444) for servicemen from the capital serving in Ukraine.
There have been fewer volunteers from the capital for Putin’s war than other parts of the country because it is where Russia’s most educated workforce is concentrated.
City officials believe there are around 45,000 Muscovites fighting in Ukraine.
This year, Russia has only been able to swell its ranks by around 190,000 new recruits, according to official figures.
Western analysts say this is just about enough to cover its heavy losses – with as many as 1,000 soldiers being killed or wounded a day in Ukraine.
But recruitment figures are down compared to the 490,000 military contracts that were signed last year.
Economists believe the increased payment to Russian soldiers could trigger imbalances in the country’s wider economy.
They argue that the wage of a serving soldier could soon become the benchmark for the rest of the country, leading to a potential growth spiral.
The Russian government paid out about 3 trillion rubles (£27 billion) in salaries and compensation to soldiers and their families between July 2023 and June 2024, according to researchers Re:Russia.
The figure amounts to about 1.6 per cent of Russia’s expected gross domestic product for the year, as well as about 8 per cent of its federal budget expenditure.
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