(ULAN-UDE, BURYATIA, RUSSIA) – Russia is channelling unprecedented sums of money into military recruitment, fundamentally altering the social and economic fabric of remote regions such as Buryatia, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal.
The Kremlin has developed a system of financial incentives that offers prospective soldiers signing bonuses of approximately three million rubles (£27,500; $36,000; €33,000), monthly salaries of at least 200,000 rubles (£1,835; $2,400; €2,200), and deferred loan payments.
Families of soldiers killed in combat are entitled to compensation packages totalling around 14 million rubles (£128,500; $168,000; €154,000). One resident described the sum as comparable to “a big inheritance or winning the lottery”.
Russia allocated approximately eight per cent of its GDP to military expenditure in 2025. While much of that funding was directed towards drones, tanks, missiles and other weaponry for the war against Ukraine, billions have also been spent on manpower.
The compensation structure comprises three main categories: signing bonuses, monthly salaries, and what has become known as coffin money. A new recruit might receive a regional sign-on bonus of around $20,000 (£15,300; €18,300; 1.7 million rubles), followed by monthly payments exceeding $2,000 (£1,530; €1,830; 170,000 rubles). Families of those killed may receive approximately $170,000 (£130,000; €156,000; 14 million rubles).
Far from the front lines, communities such as Ulan-Ude in Russia’s Buryatia region are being fundamentally rewritten by these financial incentives. As fighting-age men leave for the battlefield or flee the country, unprecedented wartime cash is flowing in, dramatically reshaping both the local economy and the way of life.
Economist Janis Kluge, who has been tracking recruitment bonuses, said the system represents “a redistribution of resources from one part of society to another”. He noted that the regions recruiting most heavily and suffering the highest casualties are typically the poorer regions, meaning the payments “can make a huge difference for the economies of these regions”.
The Buryatia region was heavily targeted for recruits from the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Seven months into the war, a mobilisation effort sent thousands of men from the region to the front. Many others left the country entirely to avoid conscription.
Konstantin Osodoev, a former conscript soldier turned actor, opposed the war from day one. When mobilisation began in September 2022, he fled the country immediately, leaving behind his father, mother and brother.
Back in Ulan-Ude, mobilisation was deeply unpopular and led to protests. Authorities increasingly pivoted to a different approach, with advertisements promising large sums of money and other benefits appearing online and on billboards across the city.
One recruitment flyer shows an artificially generated soldier holding keys to a new flat alongside the slogan “Service is caring for your family”. A resident who spoke anonymously said the pressure to join is relentless.
Kluge said recruitment bonuses increased dramatically throughout 2024 and 2025. Buryatia initially paid 200,000 rubles (£1,835; $2,400; €2,200) from the regional government, which rose to 500,000 rubles (£4,590; $6,000; €5,500), then one million rubles (£9,175; $12,000; €11,000), and most recently to 1.6 million rubles (£14,680; $19,200; €17,600).
In total, the family of a killed soldier is entitled to around 14 million rubles in compensation. Kluge noted that while $150,000 (£114,700; €137,500) might not seem life-changing, “it’s important to consider what you can buy for that money in a poor Russian region, and it’s much, much more”.
Beyond apartments and cars, large Russian retailers are opening premises in Ulan-Ude, targeting veterans and their families’ newfound wealth. A Stars Coffee outlet, the Russian replacement for Starbucks, has opened, alongside Lenta, a supermarket chain comparable to Walmart, and the city’s first Burger King.
The region has one of the highest casualty rates in the country, with over 5,000 deaths recorded, according to a tally by Russian independent media outlet People of Baikal. The expansion of one of the city’s cemeteries since the start of the war is visible from space.
Alexandra Garmazhapova, a journalist who runs the anti-war Free Buryatia Foundation after fleeing Russia, recounted how a friend who supported the full-scale invasion subsequently died fighting in Ukraine.
Veterans who return from the front lines are hailed as heroes and role models. Among them is Mikhail Zarkoy, who was wounded in Ukraine but used his combat pay to build a new life as a farmer. Elsewhere in the city, one veteran opened a nail salon and another opened a pastry shop.
The influx of cash and high demand for real estate has sent prices rising, leaving many who are not reaping the financial benefits of war unable to afford the soaring cost of living, locals told The Journal.
Against a backdrop of climbing prices and a slowing Russian economy, experts say military compensation can be even more attractive to some men.
The war money is also driving wedges between families. State television now highlights disputes over coffin money, the payments awarded to relatives of fallen soldiers.
Kluge said the payouts play an important political function. “The widow or the kids who lost their father, they’re suddenly rich,” he said. “Of course, there’s a lot of jealousy because of these huge amounts of money that some receive and others don’t receive, and this is very effective in sort of quelling any maybe anger or protest that could appear over time.”
The Kremlin and Russia’s Ministry of Defence did not respond to requests for comment.
With so much of the country’s economy now dependent on the conflict, experts say the incentive to keep fighting is baked into the system. If the war in Ukraine ends, places such as Ulan-Ude will see the influx of cash suddenly stop, and the outcome will likely be an economic crisis in these regions.
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