Vladislav Grigoriev14:52, 03.11.24

Families of deceased occupiers often buy expensive items with funeral payments.

Journalists have found out what relatives of fallen Russian soldiers spend the money from burial payments on . Often, these funds are enough to buy real estate or a luxury car, The New York Times reports .

The Kremlin is showering its conscripts with money, journalists say. This is how the Russian government wants to solve the problem of the shortage of people in the army, which arose, in particular, due to a lack of motivation.

The largest type of payment is “grave money.” It is paid to the families of deceased occupiers and amounts to almost $150,000. The publication emphasized that this is enough to buy an apartment in many Russian cities.

Some recipients of the payments told reporters that they also use the money to buy other things for themselves, including new teeth, breast implants and trips to resort countries.

Ivan Grek, director of the Russian program at George Washington University, told reporters that military payments are becoming the main incentive for impoverished middle-aged men to join the Russian army. According to him, they see these funds as a chance to avoid lifelong debt.

Artem, a Russian soldier who defected from Russia, believes that 60% of the soldiers in his unit joined the army because of unpaid loans. He emphasized that almost all of them had problems with alcohol and debt.

A report by the Bank of Finland’s Institute for Emerging Economies says “grave money” is changing the face of countless Russian backwaters. Experts have noted that the number of bank accounts in poor areas of Russia has increased sharply over the past year.

The average monthly salary of a front-line soldier is 210,000 rubles (about $2,100), which is a small fortune for residents of poor cities and villages in the Russian Federation, the publication emphasized. According to analysts, the bonus for signing a contract with the Russian army is comparable to the average annual per capita income in the country.

“This money is a social lift for those who went to war,” a resident of Buryatia named Ayan shared with journalists.

In recent months, recruitment posters across Russia have begun to focus more on financial offers rather than patriotism, journalists say. These banners often feature large sums of money offered for signing a military contract.

Oleg Zhuravlev, one of the founders of the PS Lab group, which studies people’s attitudes toward war, said:

“People who wanted to join the army out of patriotic feelings have mostly already been recruited, killed or wounded. There are few such people left in Russia.”

Some experts doubt that payments to Russian servicemen are sustainable, the publication noted. According to analysts, at least 7.5% of federal spending is spent annually on salaries, as well as payments for injuries or deaths of servicemen.

(C)UNIAN 2024