Since the beginning of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian governors have significantly increased their security spending - to over 100 million rubles, UNN reports, citing the Foreign Intelligence Service.
If 59.7 million rubles were spent on security in 2021, in 2023 the amount increased to a record 119.7 million. In 2024-2025, expenses remained consistently high - over 100 million rubles annually
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According to intelligence, the number of regions ordering security for regional and territorial leaders has also increased. Formally, this is explained by "general risks" in wartime conditions. However, the key factor is internal destabilization in Russia itself, caused by the mass return of military personnel from the front. Former participants in the war against Ukraine are increasingly becoming a source of violence that Russia cannot cope with. According to open data, war "veterans" have already killed or maimed more than a thousand people inside the country, and this figure continues to grow.
At the same time, the authorities' fear contrasts with the Kremlin's budget policy. In 2026, federal spending cuts in Russia will affect at least 18 of 51 state programs. Healthcare, aviation, energy, and funding for temporarily occupied territories will be cut. The largest cut was for the program "Integrated Development of Rural Areas" - minus 34.3 billion rubles (about 30%), while the program "Development of Healthcare" lost another 31.7 billion. Against the background of these cuts, the increase in spending on personal security for officials looks telling - the Russian authorities are saving on the population, but not on their own security
Against this background, the strengthening of governors' security looks not so much like protection from external threats, but rather a manifestation of fear of their own population - and of those who returned from the war with weapons, injuries, and a readiness for violence. The real actions of the regional authorities demonstrate: the Russian system is increasingly afraid of the consequences of the war it unleashed, the intelligence added.