Russia spent five times more on the war than the combined income of all poor people
14 March 17:12
In 2025, Russia spent approximately 10.9 trillion rubles directly on military operations against Ukraine—five times more than the combined income of all Russians living below the poverty line. This calculation is based on Rosstat data as of Saturday, March 14, on the country’s GDP (213.5 trillion rubles), as well as statements by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, who reported at a Defense Ministry meeting that expenditures “directly related to the special military operation”—as Russia refers to its armed aggression against Ukraine—amounted to 5.1% of GDP. The total income of everyone living below the poverty line did not exceed 2 trillion rubles.
This is reported by [Kommersant] citing Russian propaganda media.
According to Rosstat, 9.8 million people lived below the poverty line in 2025—the first time this figure has fallen below 10 million. Their share of the country’s population decreased from 7.1% to 6.7%. The poverty line, as calculated by the agency, was 16,903 rubles per month.
Thus, one-fifth of the expenditures on the war against Ukraine would formally be sufficient to completely eliminate poverty in the country—simply by raising the incomes of the least well-off citizens to the official poverty line.
Inflation for the Poor
However, as The Moscow Times notes, the methodology for determining the poverty line itself raises questions among experts. The indicator is calculated based on the subsistence minimum for the fourth quarter of 2020, adjusted for official inflation. Meanwhile, for low-income citizens, real inflation is typically higher than the average.
The TsMAKP, an analytical center close to the government, calculates a separate indicator—“inflation for the poor”—based on a truncated consumer basket that includes a minimum set of food products, medicines, household chemicals, and housing and utility services, but excludes hotels and transportation. This indicator regularly exceeds the average Russian inflation rate.
According to TsMAKP’s calculations, the real poverty line last year stood at 18,311 rubles for working-age citizens, 16,621 rubles for children, and 13,947 rubles for pensioners—which is 60% lower than the average pension, which amounted to 23,425 rubles last year.
