Way out of the credit trap

Putin writes off bank debts of new recruits

Russian soldiers on Red Square in Moscow

(Bild: APA/AFP/NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA)

According to a new law, anyone in Russia who signs up for deployment in the Ukraine war will benefit from debt relief of up to ten million roubles (around 92,000 euros).

The Russian army has had difficulties recruiting new soldiers in the conflict, which has been going on for almost three years. The Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a law to this effect on Saturday, as the government announced. This exempts all those who sign a one-year contract to serve in the army after December 1 from existing debts.

Those for whom a call-up order was issued before December 1 can benefit from this. Parliament had already approved the law on Tuesday.

The conditions at the front are described as particularly brutal.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Young Russians often in debt
The new regulation is primarily aimed at younger Russians of military age, as they are often in debt. Interest rates on loans are extremely high in Russia and many Russians have almost no savings. Most take on debt to buy a home. According to a report by the Central Bank, over 13 million Russians have taken out three or more loans.

The new regulation applies to those who are drafted into national military service and to fighters mobilized for the so-called special military operation in Ukraine, explained activist Sergei Krivenko. So far, there has only been the option of deferring repayments.

Conscripts are "motivated" to join theprofessional army
 Conscripts cannot be sent to the front, but they can sign a contract to join the professional army and then fight in Ukraine.

The Russian authorities are "strengthening the motivation" to sign such a contract, wrote political scientist Georgi Bowt in the online service Telegram. The new law offers hundreds of thousands of people the opportunity to get rid of their credit burden, Bowt emphasized.

Russian soldiers serving on the front line are already paid far more than the average. In Ukraine, too, there are laws that allow soldiers to obtain loans on preferential terms and, in some cases, debt relief.