Russia's State Duma Approves Record Budget with Unprecedented Defense Spending

In a historic shift, defense expenditure is set to surpass social spending as the Kremlin prepares for ongoing military confrontations and mitigates the impact of numerous sanctions.

• Russia's State Duma has approved its largest-ever federal budget, which will increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going to defense.
• For the first time in modern Russian history, defense spending is expected to overtake social spending next year.
• The budget was developed specifically to fund the military and mitigate the impact of “17,500 sanctions” on Russia.
• The Russian Communist Party voted against the budget, criticizing it for providing “low pensions” and not enough financial support for elderly people.
• Part of the Russian budget is secret as the Kremlin tries to conceal its military plans and sidestep scrutiny of its war in Ukraine.

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