Russia to cut defense spending next year at the expense of funding propaganda

In 2026, Russia plans to cut defense spending and social benefits for the military, but will sharply increase funding for state propaganda, a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) states.

Analysts have reviewed the draft Russian federal budget for 2026-2028, submitted by the government to the State Duma on September 29.

According to the draft budget, in 2026, Russia plans to allocate about 17 trillion rubles ($183 billion) to the defense sector. Although the overall share of spending in the budget will decrease slightly (from 41% in 2025 to 38% in 2026), an analysis of the individual points of the draft reveals the Kremlin's true priorities.

In 2026, 12.9 trillion rubles ($155 billion) have been allocated for “national defense” compared to 13.5 trillion in 2025.

Funding for internal security forces will increase to 3.9 trillion rubles ($47 billion) compared to 3.5 trillion ($47 billion) in 2025.

The draft budget also provides for a significant reduction in social guarantees for servicemen and their families. Compensation for the dead, wounded and their families will decrease from 78 billion rubles in 2025 to 58 billion rubles ($698 million).

The ISW specifies that in 2026 Russia plans to reduce “military” spending by approximately 200 billion rubles ($2.4 billion) compared to 2025.

However, the Kremlin intends to significantly increase funding for propaganda on state television. In 2026, the Russian government plans to spend 106.4 billion rubles ($1.28 billion) on state television channels, one and a half times more than in 2025 ($69.1 billion).

The Russian budget for 2025 also allocates 4.5 billion rubles ($47 million) and 49 million rubles ($511,000) respectively for the Telegram channel Solovyov Live and the online news aggregator Readovka, likely as part of the government’s attempts to adapt its propaganda to social media. The significant increase in television funding in 2026 indicates a return by the Kremlin to traditional methods of spreading state propaganda, especially against the backdrop of recent restrictions on social media and the creation of the state-owned messenger Max.