The size of the Russian army will be increased by 137,000 people

On August 25, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing the authorized strength of the Russian Armed Forces from January 1, 2023 in the amount of 2.04 million people, of which 1.151 million people are military personnel. The decree was published by the Kremlin.

The number of military personnel will increase by about 137,000 people, compared with the previous similar decree. Similar documents establishing the number of military personnel and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are published regularly in accordance with the law “On Defense”. On their basis, the expenses of the Ministry of Defense for the monetary maintenance of military personnel and the salaries of civilian personnel are calculated.

The last major cuts in the RF Armed Forces took place in the late 2000s. After them, the regular number of military personnel fluctuated around the figure of 1 million, slightly decreasing or increasing by no more than a few thousand people.

About a third or more of these 137,000 people are likely volunteers who have entered or will enter service as part of the so-called “nominal” battalions, which have been formed in various regions of the Federation since May, says Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine. . There are different estimates of the number of such units, but according to his estimate, we can talk about 50 such battalions and companies.

The rest of the staffing will be increased, most likely, due to the additional staffing of existing formations and units with contractors, the expert continues. Almost all of the 137,000 people will join the Ground Forces, Murakhovsky believes.

These servicemen, in all likelihood, will go to the formation of new and understaffing of existing units based on the needs of conducting a military defense, believes Mikhail Barabanov, an expert at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. “It is logical to assume that a significant proportion of them are volunteers from the formed “nominal” battalions,” he adds.

The fact that the number is set from January 1, 2023, and a significant part of these volunteers are already dressed in uniform, does not interfere with the financing of such units from the budget, there are legitimate methods for adjusting budget expenditures for this, says a former employee of the military department. In addition, the regions took over the payment of part of the allowance, he says.

Vedomosti sent a request to the Ministry of Defense.

Earlier, government officials, including presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, repeatedly stressedthat mobilization in the Russian Federation is not planned.