Russia’s recruitment machine runs on cash, and the regions bankrolling it are starting to run out. We asked researcher Janis Kluge how much longer Putin can avoid another mobilization.

It’s no secret that Russia relies on high salaries and sign-on bonuses to recruit soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Despite staggering battlefield losses, an estimated 30,000 men still enlist every month. But after four years of full-scale war, the cost of finding volunteers is only rising steadily, and the burden is falling on Russia’s regions. 

Why have hundreds of thousands of men joined the Russian army? How much does it cost to sustain recruitment? And is it only a matter of time before Vladimir Putin will be forced to declare another mobilization? In this episode of The Naked Pravda, deputy editor Eilish Hart explores the big questions behind Russia’s recruitment numbers with Dr. Janis Kluge, a researcher at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.

Time stamps for this episode:

• (2:14) Where the data comes from: Using federal and regional budgets
• (6:59) Quotas and pressure: How the top-down recruitment system works
• (9:03) Why men enlist: Bonuses, debt, and coercion at the margins
• (11:43) What recruitment really costs
• (16:50) Bonus shopping: Recruits traveling to the highest-paying regions
• (21:43) Will Putin mobilize again? Scenarios and warning signs

Catch new episodes of The Naked Pravda by subscribing through Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or Spotify. If you have a question or comment about the podcast, please write to Kevin Rothrock at [email protected] with the subject line: “The Naked Pravda.”