Russia is losing an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 soldiers every month. To maintain its operations in Ukraine, the Kremlin must recruit roughly 400,000 replacements every year.
So where do they keep finding them?
In this video, I examine the enormous signing bonuses, regional bidding wars, recruiter commissions, prison contracts, foreign recruiting networks and debt-relief programs that keep Russia’s military supplied with manpower. In some regions, the advertised compensation can reach the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But this isn’t simply volunteer recruiting. Russia has constructed a high-cash, high-pressure marketplace aimed at people who are poor, indebted, incarcerated, legally vulnerable or running out of better options.
The real question isn’t whether Russia can continue finding soldiers. It’s how much Russia must eventually pay—and how much pressure it must apply—to persuade the next 400,000 people to sign.