According to Rosstat, poverty in Russia continues to decline: by the end of last year, the number of citizens with incomes below the official line dropped for the first time to 9.8 million people (6.7% of the population). However, an analysis of budget expenditures shows that massive war financing significantly exceeds the funds needed to completely eliminate the income deficit of this category of citizens.
According to statements by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, the ministry’s expenditures amounted to 7.3% of GDP, of which 5.1% of GDP was directed specifically toward combat operations. With a GDP of 213.5 trillion rubles, direct war costs reached 10.9 trillion rubles.
Scale of military spending compared to social needs
The poverty line last year was set at 16,903 rubles per month. The combined annual income of all 9.8 million Russians below this line totaled less than 2 trillion rubles. Thus, the amount spent on military needs would have been enough to cover the total income of the country’s poorest populations five times over.
At the same time, experts point to the artificial nature of the statistical decline. The poverty line is calculated by indexing the 2020 subsistence minimum to average inflation, while real consumer inflation for low-income Russians is traditionally significantly higher than the national average.
Analytical summary: The prioritization of the military budget over social development locks in technological backwardness and hidden poverty. In 2026, continuing this course will lead to a further drain of resources from the civilian sector, despite formal successes in statistical reports.