Page 86 - Russia OUTLOOK 2024

Defence spending
Russia has a war budget for the next three years. The Kremlin plans to spend more on its military than social policies next year for the first time ever and is oriented toward one main goal – victory in the war on Ukraine, according to the country’s finance minister.
“Yes, it’s a large amount in the budget expenditures, but we need this money to achieve the most important task today – the task of ensuring victory,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said October 3 at a hearing to introduce Russia’s 2024 budget before the upper house of Russia’s parliament.
Under the plan, defence spending will comprise 6% of the country’s GDP in 2024, up from 3.9% in 2023 and 2.7% in 2021, before the Kremlin’s invasion of its neighbour. Expenditure on classified or unspecified items is forecast to nearly double, as the war continues to reshape Russia’s finances and economy.
The budget includes an approximately 3% reduction in classified expenditure, from 30% to 26.8% of all spending, reports the outlet RUBC. The budget’s “national defence” section accounts for the bulk of this redistribution.
The unclassified portion of the budget has increased by RUB725bn (around $8.1bn), of which RUB305.26bn (around $3.4bn) will be allocated to the purchase of goods and services for the state’s needs in the “defence” sphere and for the military’s social security. Another RUB370bn ($4.1bn) will go towards paying personnel in the armed forces.
The authorities plan to spend more than RUB14 trillion ($157bn) on “defence” and law enforcement in 2024, accounting for around 39% of all federal spending, making this “the most militarised budget in Russia’s modern history.”
The budget provides first and foremost for the needs of the army to conduct
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