This measure, approved Tuesday by the Russian Parliament, is considered by experts to be a strong incentive, as Russia seeks volunteers for a conflict that has now lasted more than a thousand days.
“Get rid of an unbearable burden”
The text will mainly concern young Russians of fighting age, because those in their twenties and thirties and under are the most likely to have taken out loans, particularly to acquire housing. The legislation offers “a new way to get rid of an unbearable burden of debt, at least for several hundred thousand people,” political analyst Georgi Bovt wrote on Telegram.
“Until now, there were only provisions allowing reimbursements to be delayed” for fighters, noted Sergei Krivenko, of the advocacy group Citizen Army Law, to the Telegram channel Vajnié Istori. The new legislation also applies to conscripts and those mobilized for the “special military operation” – the official name of the offensive in Ukraine –, noted Mr. Krivenko.
High interest rates
Conscripts theoretically cannot be sent to the front but can choose to sign a contract to join the professional army and be sent to fight in Ukraine. The Russian authorities are “strengthening the motivation to sign such a contract,” notes Mr. Bovt. Russian fighters serving on the front lines are already paid much better than the national average.
Interest rates are extremely high in Russia, and many Russians have almost no cash savings. More than 13 million Russians had at least three loans in the first half of the year – a figure up 20% year-on-year – with an average debt of 1.4 million rubles (12,900 euros), according to a Bank report central published last month.
