Russia cuts soldiers’ benefits while boosting propaganda in 2026 - ISW

The analysts reviewed the draft Russian federal budget for 2026–2028, submitted by the government to the State Duma on Sept. 29.

The draft allocates about 17 trillion rubles ($183 billion) to the defense sector in 2026. Although defense will still account for 38% of total spending — down from 41% in 2025 — a closer look at individual budget lines reveals the Kremlin’s shifting priorities.

Spending on “national defense” will decrease to 12.9 trillion rubles ($155 billion) in 2026, compared to 13.5 trillion rubles in 2025.

At the same time, funding for domestic security forces will rise to 3.9 trillion rubles ($47 billion), up from 3.5 trillion rubles ($42 billion) in 2025.

The draft budget also slashes social support for soldiers and their families. Compensation payments to the families of killed and wounded soldiers will drop from 78 billion rubles in 2025 to 58 billion rubles ($698 million) in 2026.

ISW noted that overall, Russia will reduce “military” spending by about 200 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) compared to 2025.

In contrast, the Kremlin will significantly boost spending on state-controlled television propaganda. The government plans to allocate 106.4 billion rubles ($1.28 billion) to state TV in 2026, about 1.5 times more than in 2025 (69.1 billion rubles).

The 2025 budget also included 4.5 billion rubles ($47 million) for Solovyov Live Telegram channel and 49 million rubles ($511,000) for Readovka online news aggregator — part of the government’s push to adapt propaganda to social media platforms.

ISW analysts said the sharp increase in TV funding in 2026 shows that the Kremlin is returning to traditional methods of spreading propaganda, especially after recent restrictions on social media and the launch of Max - state-controlled messaging app.