According to an official report by experts from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia’s military spending reached $190 billion by the end of 2025. These data, based on deep monitoring and cross-verification, record a historic high: in comparable prices, the burden on the economy has reached levels seen in the 1940s and the peak values of the Cold War era.
Verified SIPRI data:
- Historic leap: Compared to the pre-war period, expenditures have increased by 96%.
- Hidden sector: SIPRI experts revealed that in addition to the 13.5 trillion rubles for “national defense,” the authorities “embedded” another 2.5 trillion in implicit military costs within civilian sectors (construction, healthcare).
- Lack of transparency: 79% of direct military spending is classified, a critical figure by international standards.
Analytical Summary: An economy of attrition
The SIPRI analysis confirms an unprecedented budget imbalance. Total military spending (15.963 trillion rubles) now accounts for 38% of the federal budget.
- Cannibalization of the future: The military budget is 8.5 times higher than the expenditures for the country’s entire higher education system. This is a deliberate rejection of progress in favor of building up firepower.
- Regional exhaustion: Annual spending on the army, according to SIPRI calculations, is equivalent to 30 budgets of large industrial regions, such as the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
- The mobilization trap: The deep dependence of GDP on defense orders makes the economy a hostage of the war — any attempt to reduce spending will lead to a structural collapse.