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Putin’s War Has Left Russia’s Governors With an Impossible Choice
In August, the Russian republic of Mordovia offered new military recruits a signing bonus of 3 million rubles. For an ordinary resident, that was a staggering sum for signing a contract.
Less than a month later, the offer had collapsed to 800,000 rubles. There was no peace agreement. Russia still needed soldiers. The problem was much closer to home. Mordovia was struggling to find the money.
Earlier in the summer, the republic’s officials had already acknowledged that some payments to servicemen had been suspended because of limited budget resources. The regional leader demanded that they resume. Yet by September, the authorities were drastically reducing their offers.
That reversal tells a larger story about Russia’s war in Ukraine. Moscow needs a steady supply of soldiers, and local governments are increasingly expected to help deliver them. Yet the same governments are running out of financial room to do it.
Recruitment is becoming a contest between military demands and ordinary public services. For years, the Kremlin has relied heavily on paid military contracts rather than announcing another nationwide mobilization like the one that triggered public anxiety and an exodus of men in 2022. Regions competed by offering large signing bonuses on top of…
