Russia’s Defence Ministry is planning, for the first time, to move December salary payments to January next year. This comes as the Russian government prepares for a significant increase in the budget deficit at the end of the year.
Bloomberg reports this.
According to a draft order from Russia’s defence ministry, starting in 2026 payments for December will be made between 11 and 21 January of the following year. Previously, the rules in force stipulated that money for the final month of the year must be paid by the end of December. A similar practice existed in the Soviet Union.
At the same time, the new procedure will not apply to Russian service personnel fighting in Ukraine. They are still expected to receive their December money by the 25th.
Delaying the payments could help the Russian government manage cash flows and shift part of its spending into the next financial period. December typically accounts for the largest share of annual state expenditure, which has risen sharply during the war.
Forecasts suggest Russia’s state spending this year will exceed the original plan by about 10% and reach 48.5 trillion roubles ($602 billion). The budget deficit by year-end could rise to 7.3 trillion roubles, or 3.2% of GDP. In September, this figure was around 2.2%.
The increase in spending is linked, among other things, to financing the war. Russia’s budget plans also envisage keeping military expenditure high in the coming years.
Russian officials expect only a slight reduction: to 16.6 trillion roubles in 2028 and 16.3 trillion roubles in 2029. By comparison, next year military spending could reach a record 17.1 trillion roubles.
According to the explanatory note to the draft budget, over the next three years payments to personnel will account for between 9% and 10.4% of Russia’s total spending on national defence.
- The Russian economy, which the Kremlin has put on a "war footing", has faced an industrial downturn. Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development has officially recorded negative momentum for the first time in the past five years.