If the losses of the Russian army are classified secret, the increase in pay and bonuses remains a means of replenishing the ranks of units decimated by almost two and a half years of bloody clashes.
At the beginning of October, the region of Khanty-Mansiysk (north), rich in hydrocarbons, announced that it would now pay a record annual salary of 5.27 million rubles (around 50,000 euros, or more than five times the average Russian annual salary ) for those who join the Ukrainian front. The signing bonus was set at 2.7 million rubles (approximately 25,400 euros).
The Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, for its part, announced in October to increase the signing bonus to 3 million rubles (28,200 euros) – compared to 800,000 rubles previously – for those who sign their contract before the 1st January.
Ukraine war: North Korean soldiers most likely killed in Ukraine, Seoul says
On television, calls to get involved are also increasing, as are public poster campaigns in cities emphasizing the increasing amount of sales.
In the Moscow region, posters have been promising an annual salary of 5.2 million rubles since July.
That of Krasnodar (southwest) for its part almost doubled the annual salary, bringing it to 1.9 million rubles (18,000 euros). This is the third doubling of pay in this region since the start of the conflict in February 2022.
The same goes for residents of the Arctic region of Yamalo-Nenetsia, its amount now amounting to up to 1.1 million rubles (10,300 euros) and in the Maris region (Upper Volga) up to 500,000 rubles ( around 5,000 euros). And this sum was multiplied by five (500,000 rubles) in Dagestan (Caucasus), one of the poorest regions in Russia.
In Saint Petersburg, the former imperial capital, the increase is more modest: 1.8 million rubles (17,000 euros), compared to 1.3 million previously.
Still to encourage recruitment, at the end of September, Parliament approved a law allowing the abandonment of criminal proceedings against those who enlist to go to the front.
