Key facts
- Verstka reported the draft order would move December pay for non-combat troops to January 11 to 21, 2027.
- The Joint Group of Forces, the command fighting in Ukraine, would be exempt and paid before the new year, per Verstka.
- December bonuses for contract soldiers would still be paid in December under a provision in the draft, Verstka said.
- Verstka said the draft gives no reason for the change and that it would be the first such shift in at least 18 years.
- Bloomberg reported Russia's full-year deficit was expected to widen to 7.3 trillion rubles, about 3.2% of GDP.
Russia's Defense Ministry has drafted an order that would delay December salary payments for service members not involved in the war in Ukraine into January 2027, independent Russian outlet Verstka reported on October 30. Under rules adopted in 2019, December payments are usually issued by December 25 and troops are generally paid between the 10th and 20th of each month, Verstka said.
The draft would move the payments to between January 11 and 21 of the following year, according to Verstka. The Joint Group of Forces, the command currently fighting in Ukraine, would be exempt and receive its December pay before the new year, Verstka said, citing the draft. December bonuses for contract soldiers would also be paid in December under a provision in the draft, suggesting payment schedules for combat units likely stay unchanged, Verstka said.
Should the order be adopted as written, it would take effect this year. Verstka said the change would be the first of its kind in at least 18 years, tracing the December payments practice through ministry orders from 2011 and 2008 and citing an instruction from the Soviet State Bank issued in 1986. The draft does not give a reason for the change, according to Verstka.
Separately, Bloomberg reported that the Russian government's full-year deficit is expected to widen to 7.3 trillion rubles (about $89.9 billion), or about 3.2% of gross domestic product, from about 2.2% in September, amid increased spending due to the war against Ukraine.