While Kremlin spokespeople publicly claim Russia is ready to work with the United States on a “peace plan,” the Russian government’s actions suggest otherwise. The budget approved by dictator Vladimir Putin allocates nearly 40% to the war effort - a record share since the Soviet Union.
The aggressor state plans to spend 12.93 trillion rubles on the army and weapons procurement — almost 30% of total government outlays. Another 3.91 trillion rubles is earmarked for various security agencies. In all, the security bloc will receive 16.84 trillion rubles, about 38% of the entire budget. That is 1.6 times more than in pre-war 2021, when security structures accounted for 24% of spending.
As military lines grow, social funding is being cut. Social programs are set at 25.1% of the budget — well below the pre-war 38.1%.
Spending to support the national economy will also be reduced: its share will drop to 10.9% from 17.6% in 2021. Both figures will be the lowest in 20 years of publicly available data from Russia’s Finance Ministry.
Under the law, Russia plans to collect 40.27 trillion rubles in revenue next year, while expenditures will reach 44.06 trillion. That leaves a deficit of 3.78 trillion rubles, or 1.6% of GDP.
Oil and gas revenues, which fell by nearly 20% in 2025, are expected to barely recover next year: the budget projects 8.9 trillion rubles, only slightly above the current 8.6 trillion. To make up for the shortfall, the government is leaning on heavier fiscal pressure on the non-commodity sector. The Kremlin plans to raise an additional 2.9 trillion rubles through new taxes.
