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Putin Moves to Militarize Russian Society, ISW Says

The Kremlin is raising taxes, seizing assets and tapping pension savings as military spending climbs and borrowing options narrow.

  • In June, the Russian Finance Ministry announced support for draft legislation to transfer nearly $40 billion in private pension savings into a state-managed fund to cover war-driven fiscal shortfalls.
  • The Finance Ministry canceled three of four bond auctions in June and July due to lack of buyer interest, forcing an indefinite suspension as the Kremlin sought alternative funding sources.
  • Prosecutors filed claims to seize assets worth roughly $60 billion between early 2022 and late 2025, while state extraction from firms like Gazprom left little remaining to tap.
  • Moscow's orders to shoulder more social expenses left 73 out of 89 regions with budget deficits in 2025, up from 49 in 2024, straining local capacity to fund military bonuses.
  • While publicly claiming to protect the social contract, the government has penciled in a 27.9 percent rise in utility rates for 2026-28, shifting war costs onto household balance sheets.
Insights by Ground AI

26 Articles

Lean Right

Vladimir Putin says that the most important task of all is to support special operations soldiers and families. Still, Russian gas stations are easing restrictions.

·Lisboa, Portugal
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Generous bonuses, remission of sentence, write-off of debts: to recruit massively, Moscow uses the financial leverage and promise of a prestigious veteran status. An effective policy but...

·Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
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merkur.demerkur.de
Reposted by
mannheim24.demannheim24.de
Center

Putin binds Duma and the population closer to the war and wants to keep mobilized in the army.

·Munich, Germany
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Bias Distribution

  • 46% of the sources are Center
46% Center

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The Moscow Times broke the news in Amsterdam, Netherlands (Kingdom of the) on Saturday, July 25, 2026.
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