The government presented yesterday 2026 Russian budget to the State Duma. It shows, among other things, that the Kremlin plans to reduce spending on social benefits for the military while significantly increasing the amount of rubles allocated to state propaganda. According to ISW analysis, Moscow intends to spend one and a half times more money on regime-controlled media in 2026 than in 2025. A new state-owned messenger app has also been launched to replace foreign applications.
2026 Russian budget – Details
On September 29, the Russian government presented a draft budget for 2026–2028 to the State Duma. It foresees that federal revenues in 2026 will amount to about 40.3 trillion rubles ($485 billion), while expenditures will reach about 44.1 trillion rubles ($531 billion).
The 2026 Russian budget includes:
- Allocation of 12.9 trillion rubles ($155 billion) for “National Defense” spending (a decrease compared to 13.5 trillion rubles ($163 billion) in 2025).
- Defense spending will rise to 13.6 trillion rubles ($164 billion) in 2027, and then fall to 13 trillion rubles ($156.5 billion) in 2028.
- Allocation of 3.9 trillion rubles ($47 billion) for “National Security” in 2026 (up from 3.5 trillion rubles ($42 billion) in 2025).
- Russia plans to devote about 38 percent of its 2026 expenditures to combined “defense” and “security” spending (down from 41 percent in 2025).
- 58 billion rubles ($698 million) in 2026 for compensation and social benefits for soldiers killed or wounded in action and for their families (down from 78 billion rubles ($939 million) in 2025).
- About 13.9 billion rubles ($167 million) in 2026 for the “Defenders of the Fatherland Fund,” which supports Russian veterans and their families (down from about 34.7 billion rubles ($418 million) in 2025).
In total, according to ISW experts, Russia will reduce defense and security spending in 2026 by about 200 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) compared to 2025.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov recently stated that authorities expect oil and gas revenues to make up about 20–22 percent of Russia’s federal budget income in 2026, down from roughly 50 percent previously.
The Kremlin also recently announced an increase in VAT, intended to fund defense and security. According to Finance Ministry estimates, this should generate an additional $14.2 billion in 2026.
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2026 Russian Budget Shifts Toward Propaganda
The Russian government plans to increase funding for television propaganda, as access to the internet and social media in Russia has already been heavily restricted. As a result, most citizens now get their information about the world from television screens at home.
The Russian opposition portal Verstka reported on September 29 that the government plans to spend 106.4 billion rubles ($1.28 billion) on state TV channels in 2026 – a significant increase compared to the previously planned 69.1 billion rubles ($832 million) in 2025.
In the 2025 budget, 4.5 billion rubles ($47 million) and 49 million rubles ($511,000) were allocated for the SolovievLive Telegram channel and the Readovka news aggregator, likely as part of government efforts to adapt its propaganda to social media.
In 2026, the sharp increase in television funding indicates that the Kremlin is once again relying on traditional channels of state propaganda. This trend is particularly significant given recent restrictions on social media and the launch of the state-owned messenger app Max. Following the enactment of legislation banning Russian institutions and services from using foreign messengers, Max is set to become their main replacement.
