Russian parliament passes budget with record military expenditures

The Russian parliament passed a budget for 2024 that increases military spending to more than one-third of total government expenditures, Russian independent media outlet Meduza reported.

If combined with funding for domestic law enforcement agencies, the figure rises to 40%.

According to Meduza, state expenditures on Russia’s military sector will exceed social payments for the first time.

The budget has passed through all but one of the necessary steps in order to become a law, with only the signature of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin remaining to bring the budget into force.

The budget had gone through 900 amendments since its first draft, Meduza wrote, with an additional 725 billion rubles ($8.2 billion) being allocated to the country’s military sector in the second draft.

In addition, Russia has earmarked a significant amount of money, at least $2.6 billion, to be spent on the territories of Ukraine that it illegally annexed in September 2022.

In order to fund the increased military expenditures, Russia will need increased revenue. Funding the first draft of the budget, which was smaller than the final version passed, would reportedly require a 22% increase in government revenue from 2023.

The Russian government is considering raising taxes to account for the discrepancy, sources told Meduza.