Russia Moscow entices war effort with more money

The Russian capital Moscow wants to attract more volunteers for the war effort in Ukraine and is offering a bonus of 1.9 million roubles (around 19,000 francs) as a one-off payment on signing a contract.

According to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, all previous special payments for soldiers sent to the front from the capital are to be retained. In the first year, a total annual income of 5.2 million roubles (53,000 Swiss francs) would be paid. That is a multiple of the average Russian salary.

The Russian regions have recently raised the premiums for signing a volunteer contract massively in order to recruit even more soldiers for the war. This is intended to circumvent a new partial mobilization. In the fall of 2022, the forced recruitment of reservists ordered by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin triggered protests and a wave of people fleeing abroad. The power apparatus is therefore trying to solve the personnel problem of supplying the front with money.

Regions advertise special bonuses for the war effort

In Moscow, as in many Russian cities, there are posters everywhere advertising deployment at the front. The attractive sums of money for many Russians can often be seen directly on the billboards. Because many people earn little, especially in the provinces, going to war is seen as a comparatively easy way to earn a lot of money quickly by Russian standards.

According to official figures, only around 45,000 men have signed up for military service in Moscow so far - since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Mayor Sobyanin may now want to be better off than the country's average with the new financial incentives.

The Ministry of Defense announced this month that 190,000 Russians had signed up for the war effort since the beginning of the year. The ministry itself pays a one-off bonus of 195,000 roubles (around 1993 francs).