Moscow to pay residents over $21,000 signing bonus for joining army.

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Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin signed a decree on July 23 establishing a one-time signing bonus of 1.9 million rubles (£21,200) for city residents who join the military. As Russia has sought to replenish its military, decimated by high losses in Ukraine, authorities have implemented financial perks to incentivize enlistment. While other regional authorities have also instituted signing bonuses, such as 1 million rubles (£11,200) in Krasnodar Krai and 500,000 rubles (£5,600) in Dagestan, the Moscow signing bonus appears to be the highest reported so far.

With the addition of the signing bonus, a Moscow resident who enlists in the army will make over 5.2 million rubles (£58,600) over the course of their first year in service, Sobyanin's office said. Servicemen can also receive between 500,000 to 1 million rubles (£5,600-11,200) for being injured, and the family of a soldier killed in action is reportedly set to be paid 3 million rubles (£34,000). A variety of other perks are also offered to family members, the mayor's office said.

Russia's federal statistics service, Rosstat, said in June 2023 that the average monthly wage across the country was around 65,000 rubles (£735). In comparison, with the additional signing bonus factored, a Moscow resident could earn 433,000 rubles a month (£4,800) in their first year serving in the army.

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