WAR DRUMS are Beating, Russia’s military budget set to rise by 70%, China’s shipbuilding capacity, Hot War to Cancel the 2024 Elections in America

According to a recent document from the Russian Finance Ministry, military expenditure is slated to surge nearly 70 percent to €106 billion by 2024. This increase underscores Moscow's unwavering commitment to its military involvement in Ukraine, despite the significant human and economic toll.

As per the document, Russian defense spending is set to rise by 68 percent in 2024 compared to the current year, amounting to 10.8 trillion rubles (€106 billion). Consequently, defense allocation will constitute roughly 30 percent of the total federal expenditure in 2024 and 6 percent of the GDP—marking a historic first in modern Russian history. Internal security budget is also slated to increase to 3.4 trillion rubles (€33 billion), nearly 10 percent of the annual federal spending.

The primary emphases of this budget are stated as "bolstering the nation's defense capabilities," "assimilating the newly acquired regions" of Ukraine, whose annexation Moscow has insisted upon, and providing "social assistance to the most vulnerable citizens," just months ahead of the Russian presidential elections in spring 2024.

Conversely, the cumulative expenditure on education, healthcare, and environmental protection barely amounts to one-third of the defense budget, according to ministry data. Overall, federal expenditure is projected to reach 36.7 trillion rubles (€359 billion), a striking 20 percent surge from 2023.

However, the government has provided little insight into how it plans to fund this substantial escalation. Prime Minister Mikhail Musustin stated last Friday that revenue from hydrocarbon sales will see a sharp decline, constituting only "a third of next year's budget" in 2024, compared to half prior to the Ukraine invasion. Hydrocarbon sales, once the driving force behind Russia's economic growth, are dwindling due to international sanctions and the European Union's resolve to reduce energy reliance on Moscow.

One indication that the government anticipates a challenging period ahead for the Russian economy is its announcement that it has based its budget forecast on the assumption of a dollar being valued at around 90 rubles, thus implying an anticipated weakening of the national currency in the medium term. The draft budget law for 2024-2026 is scheduled to be submitted to the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, on Friday.
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