The Funding of the Power Agencies of the Russian State: An Update, 2005 to 2014 and Beyond
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- 1 J. Cooper, "The Funding of the Power Agencies of the Russian State", Journal of Power Institutions (...)
- 2 For a detailed discussion of the analysis of expenditure on the largest claimant of power agency, t (...)
1In a previous work published by the Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies the author presented an analysis of the funding of the power agencies of the Russian Federation in the years 1999 to 20061. The present article updates the analysis to cover the years since 2005 to examine trends in funding and prospects for the future. It adopts the same approach as the previous work, which establishes the background in terms of the agencies covered and the sources of data employed2.
2Sources
- 3 Federal Treasury of Russia: http://www.roskazna.ru/federalnogo-byudzheta-rf/yi/; Presidential Admin (...)
- 4 http://www.roskazna.ru/federalnogo-byudzheta-rf/fb/, report, 1 June 2014.
- 5 As presented on the Duma website of draft legislation: http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/(Spravka) (...)
- 6 http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_main/rosstat/ru/statistics/accounts/#, accessed 2 July 20 (...)
3For the years 2005 to 2013 the data shown are those presented in annual laws on the implementation of the federal budget. These are available (in Russian only) on the presidential website but for the period covered a more readily accessed source is the website of the Federal Treasury3. For 2014, the data shown are those of the law on the federal budget as of the end of May 2014, as published by the Federal Treasury4. In accordance with current practice, the law on the federal budget for 2014, adopted in early December 2013, included provisional allocations for the years 2015 and 2016. Unfortunately, in recent years there has been a reduction in the level of transparency of the Russian federal budget and now open publication is restricted to non-classified spending only. Given that a large proportion of spending on national defence and almost all spending on the security services is classified, the law itself cannot be used to establish spending intentions. However, in the budgetary process, as the draft law passes through the State Duma, more information is made available on spending intentions and this provides a first approximation to the final version of the budget. The data presented here for 2015 and 2016 are those presented in the draft budget before amendment by the Duma5. Usually, such amendment tends to be of a marginal character. Finally, the annual GDP data are those of the Federal Service of State Statistics (Rosstat). GDP statistics tend to undergo amendment: the figures shown here are the latest available at the time of writing6. Having established the sources of data, the table that follow present the evidence.
Table 1 - The funding of power agencies, 2005 to 2009 (million roubles, current prices)
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009l |
|
Security servicesa Border service |
66,000 35,908 |
91,539 48,798 |
116,836 53,787 |
147,709 64,921 |
179,302 78,809 |
Total security |
101,908 |
140,337 |
170,623 |
212,630 |
258,111 |
MVDb MVD ITc Penal system Procuracy Justice FSKONd Courier service |
147,805 26,987 61,494 20,734 19,599 9,064 1,347 |
166,029 38,382 78,369 27,332 28,015 11,250 1,560 |
189,781 46,791 93,505 34,475 39,527 13,040 1,786 |
243,089 54,740 119,633 39,996 50,445 16,513 2 232 |
270,318 57,912 140,775 49,508 38,728 19,028 2,440 |
Total public order |
287,030 |
350,937 |
418,905 |
526,416 |
578,709 |
MChSe GUSPf |
9,527 12,543 |
11,220 18,503 |
20,920 21,459 |
24 735 25 188 |
29,362 29,395 |
Total emergencies |
23,070 |
29,723 |
42,379 |
49,923 |
58,757 |
"National defence" |
581,144 |
681,821 |
831,875 |
1,040 840 |
1,188,174 |
All power agencies |
993,152 |
1,202,818 |
1,463,782 |
1,829,809 |
2,083,751 |
Total budget exp. |
3,514,348 |
4,284,803 |
5,986,562 |
7,566,639 |
9,660,061 |
P.a. as % total exp. inc security public order emergencies national defence |
28.26 2.90 8.17 0.66 16.54 |
28.07 3.28 8.19 0.69 15.91 |
24.45 2.85 7.00 0.71 13.90 |
24.18 2.81 6.96 0.66 13.75 |
21.57 2.67 5.99 0.61 12.30 |
GDP |
21,609,766 |
26,917,201 |
33,247,513 |
41,276,849 |
38,807,219 |
P.a. as % GDP inc security public order emergencies national defence |
4.60 0.47 1.33 0.11 2.69 |
4.47 0.52 1.30 0.11 2.54 |
4.40 0.51 1.26 0.13 2.50 |
4.43 0.51 1.28 0.12 2.52 |
5.37 0.67 1.49 0.15 3.06 |
Source: as above, p.1.
4Notes:
a. Federal Security Service (FSB), External Intelligence Service (SVR), Federal Guard Service
(FSO), Federal Committee for Technical and Export Control (FSTEK)
b. Ministry of the Interior
c. Internal Troops of Ministry of the Interior
d. Federal Service for
e. Ministry for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Liquidation of the Consequences of Disasters
- 7 On GUSP, see: "The Funding of the Power Agencies of the Russian State", The Journal of Power Instit (...)
f. Main Administration for Special Programmes7
Table 2 - The funding of power agencies, 2010 to 2013 (million roubles, current prices)
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Security services Border service FSTEK |
192,708 78,974 27 |
237,698 84 ,42 35 |
259,174 85,515 34 |
309,225 132,912 36 |
Total security |
271 709 |
322,475 |
344,723 |
442,173 |
MVD MVD IT Penal system Procuracy & inv com Justice FSKON Courier service |
288,816 64,319 149,118 51,171 39,071 19,448 2,510 |
340,016 75,628 166,272 58,978 48,804 21,326 2,616 |
766,142 122,347 206,325 63,436 52,808 23,393 2,816 |
763,130 128,544 263,267 77,905 56,721 31,333 3,732 |
Total public order |
614,453 |
713,640 |
1,237,267 |
1,324,632 |
MChS GUSP2 |
32,845 30,958 |
42,560 34,642 |
49,834 37,118 |
53,769 35,137 |
Total emergencies |
63,803 |
77,202 |
86,952 |
88,906 |
"National defence" |
1,276,514 |
1,515,959 |
1,812,386 |
2,103,579 |
All power agencies |
2,226,479 |
2,629,276 |
3,481,328 |
3,959,290 |
Total budget exp. |
10,087,945 |
10,935,222 |
12,894,987 |
13,342,922 |
P.a. as % total exp. inc security public order emergencies national defence |
22.07 2.69 6.09 0.63 12.66 |
24.04 2.95 6.53 0.70 13.86 |
27.00 2.67 9.60 0.67 14.06 |
29.67 3.31 9.93 0.67 15.76 |
GDP |
46,308,541 |
55,644,000 |
62,218,400 |
66,755,300 |
P.a. as % GDP inc security public order emergencies national defence |
4.81 0.59 1.33 0.14 2.75 |
4.72 0.58 1.28 0.14 2.72 |
5.59 0.55 1.99 0.14 2.91 |
5.93 0.66 1.99 0.13 3.15 |
Source: as above, p.1.
5Tables 1 and 2 show actual spending. It can be seen that between 2005 and 2008 budget shares of spending on power agencies and also the GDP shares were fairly constant. In 2009, the year of greatest impact on the Russian economy of the global financial-economic crisis, the government endeavoured to maintain budget spending notwithstanding a sharp drop in the GDP. This led to increased GDP shares for spending on the power agencies although shares of total spending tended to fall as priority was granted to forms of budget spending that would counter the crisis and reduce its social impact. After 2010, with a gradual recovery of the economy, some new trends emerged. Budget and GDP shares of spending on defence increased, partly because of increased pay for officers, but mainly because of the implementation of the ambitious state armaments programme to 2020 for re-equipping the armed forces, signed into law at the end of 2010. At the same time, budget and GDP shares of spending on the security services and public order also increased, mainly under the impact of increased rates of pay. Since 2013 some new trends have emerged, as show in Table 3.
Table 3 - The funding of power agencies according to the budget, 2014 to 2016 (million roubles, current prices)
2014 budget law |
2015 draft budget |
2016 draft budget |
|
Security services Border service FSTEK |
310,371 141,255 36 |
329,689 139,892 34 |
336,691 130,476 34 |
Total security |
451,662 |
469,615 |
467,201 |
MVD MVD IT Penal system Procuracy Justice FSKON Courier service |
758,619 127,244 215,067 93,357 54,964 31,489 3,650 |
757,531 129,708 225,860 92,793 49,848 31,041 3,786 |
766,164 128,999 224,626 93,084 50,197 31,263 3,723 |
Total public order |
1,284,390 |
1,290,719 |
1,298,056 |
MChS GUSP |
54,832 34,910 |
61,347 34,414 |
59,725 34,249 |
Total emergencies |
89,742 |
95,761 |
93,974 |
‘National defence’ |
2,491,462 |
3,026,948 |
3,378,040 |
All power agencies |
4,317,256 |
4,883,043 |
5,237,271 |
Total budget exp. |
14,020,343 |
15,361,541 |
16,392,213 |
P.a. as % total exp. inc security public order emergencies national defence |
30.80 3.32 9.16 0.64 17.78 |
31.79 3.06 8.40 0.62 19.71 |
31.95 2.85 7.92 0.57 20.61 |
GDP |
71,493,000 |
76,077,000 |
82,303,000 |
P.a. as % GDP inc security public order emergencies national defence |
6.04 0.63 1.80 0.13 3.48 |
6.42 0.62 1.69 0.13 3.98 |
6.36 0.57 1.58 0.11 4.10 |
Source: as above, p.1.
6As can be seen, a rapid increase in the share of spending on defence is envisaged, both in terms of total budget spending and GDP. This will arise because the implementation of the armaments programme will see significant year-to-year growth in the volume of deliveries to the armed forces of new armaments and other military equipment. But in order to limit the overall share of budget expenditure devoted to power agencies, the rate of growth of spending on other power agencies will be moderated, leading to reduced budget and GDP shares for the security services, public order and provision for emergencies. These trends over time are shown in Tables 4 and 5, which show data for an extended period, 2000 to 2016.
Table 4 - Shares of total funding of power agencies, 2000-2016 (per cent)
Per cent share of total funding of power agencies |
||||
Security services |
Public order |
Emergency provision |
National defence |
|
2016DB 2015DB 2014B 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 |
8.9 9.6 10.5 11.2 9.9 12.3 12.2 12.4 11.6 11.7 11.7 10.3 11.1 12.1 11.3 9.2 8.3 |
24.8 26.4 29.7 34.4 35.5 27.1 27.6 27.8 28.8 28.6 29.2 28.9 29.3 26.6 25.0 22.8 24.2 |
1.8 2.0 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.9 2.9 2.8 2.7 2.9 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.7 |
64.5 62.0 57.7 53.1 52.1 57.7 57.3 57.0 56.9 56.8 56.7 58.5 57.5 59.2 61.9 66.3 65.8 |
Table 5 - GDP shares of spending on power agencies, 2000 to 2016 (per cent)
Year |
Security services |
Public order |
Emergency provision |
National defence |
All power agencies |
2016DB 2015DB 2014B 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 |
0.57 0.62 0.63 0.66 0.55 0.58 0.59 0.67 0.51 0.51 0.52 0.47 0.49 0.55 0.50 0.43 0.33 |
1.58 1.69 1.80 1.99 1.99 1.28 1.33 1.49 1.28 1.26 1.30 1.33 1.29 1.21 1.10 1.07 0.97 |
0.11 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.12 0.13 0.11 0.11 0.90 0.10 0.08 0.08 0.07 |
4.10 3.98 3.48 3.15 2.91 2.72 2.75 3.06 2.52 2.50 2.54 2.69 2.68 2.73 2.77 2.62 2.40 |
6.36 6.42 6.04 5.93 5.59 4.72 4.81 5.37 4.43 4.40 4.47 4.60 4.40 4.54 4.41 4.35 3.99 |
7Note, in both tables shares for 2000-2004 as The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies, # 6/7, 2007, as f.n.1.
- 8 See Russian Military Expenditure: Data, Analysis and Issues, pp. 41-43.
8To gain a better understanding of trends over time it is necessary to assess changes in the volume of funding in real terms. As the author has argued elsewhere, this is best done by using the GDP deflator rather than the retail price index8. Chart 1 shows the change in spending in real terms for the years 2000-2009 and the possible change for the years 2010 to 2016 if current, provisional, budget projections are realised. Funding of emergency provision has been omitted because of its relatively modest scale.
Chart 1 - Change in spending on power agencies of Russia, 2000-2010 and 2010-2016, and change of GDP during the same periods (per cent)

Source: Calculated by the author using the annual GDP deflator of Rosstat.
9It can be seen that the priorities of spending have undergone a fundamental change. Whereas the security services received the most generous funding during the initial period to 2009, in the main the years of Vladimir Putin's first two terms of office, the armed forces of the Ministry of Defence were kept on meagre rations, with spending growing on average at approximately the same rate as GDP. Since 2010 the priorities have been reversed. It is the military that has received top priority while the security services have been funded at an average rate similar to that of the growth of GDP.
10It remains to be seen whether the provisional spending intentions for 2014-2016 will be realised. With faltering economic growth a scaling down of spending plans may prove unavoidable, although this need not lead to any change in priorities. But it can be speculated that these changed priorities may not find favour in the security services, habituated under President Putin's rule to favourable budget outcomes. In these circumstances there must be a potential for new tensions within the ranks of the power agencies of the Russian state.
Notes
1 J. Cooper, "The Funding of the Power Agencies of the Russian State", Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies, # 6/7, 2007, http://pipss.revues.org/562.
2 For a detailed discussion of the analysis of expenditure on the largest claimant of power agency, the Ministry of Defence, see the author's paper, Russian Military Expenditure: Data, Analysis and Issues, FOI Report, FOI-R-3688-SE, September 2013, Swedish Defence Research Agency, http://www.foi.se/en/Search/Abstract/?rNo=FOI-R--3688--SE.
3 Federal Treasury of Russia: http://www.roskazna.ru/federalnogo-byudzheta-rf/yi/; Presidential Administration, documents: http://www.kremlin.ru/acts.
4 http://www.roskazna.ru/federalnogo-byudzheta-rf/fb/, report, 1 June 2014.
5 As presented on the Duma website of draft legislation: http://asozd2.duma.gov.ru/main.nsf/(Spravka)?OpenAgent&RN=348499-6 (Federal law for 2014 and planned period 2015 and 2016).
6 http://www.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_main/rosstat/ru/statistics/accounts/#, accessed 2 July 2014.
7 On GUSP, see: "The Funding of the Power Agencies of the Russian State", The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies, # 6/7, 2007, para. 19, http://pipss.revues.org/562.
8 See Russian Military Expenditure: Data, Analysis and Issues, pp. 41-43.
Top of pageList of illustrations
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Title | Chart 1 - Change in spending on power agencies of Russia, 2000-2010 and 2010-2016, and change of GDP during the same periods (per cent) |
Caption | Source: Calculated by the author using the annual GDP deflator of Rosstat. |
URL | http://journals.openedition.org/pipss/docannexe/image/4063/img-1.png |
File | image/png, 22k |
References
Electronic reference
Julian Cooper, “The Funding of the Power Agencies of the Russian State: An Update, 2005 to 2014 and Beyond ”, The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies [Online], Issue 16 | 2014, Online since 19 August 2014, connection on 15 August 2022. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/pipss/4063; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/pipss.4063
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