Vladimir Putin has signed a decree which will equalize the salaries of governors with those of deputy prime ministers. The document was published on the official portal of legal acts. ‘It is established that individuals in supreme leadership positions of the subjects of the Russian Federation will receive a compensation that includes a monthly salary, a monthly bonus, and a quarterly bonus, in the amount provided for deputy prime ministers of the Russian Federation,’ the decree states. The new provisions will come into effect starting in 2026.
According to calculations by journalist Farida Rustamova, starting from that year, governors’ salaries will increase by at least five times. Thus, in the federal budget for 2025, 246 million rubles (over 2.5 million euros) are allocated for the payment of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and his ten deputies. Taking into account taxes and social contributions, each member of the government receives ‘in hand’ about 1.2-1.3 million rubles monthly (between 12,500-13,500 euros). According to sources close to the journalist, a year ago the official salaries of governors in different regions of Russia ranged from 150,000 to 200,000 rubles (1,500-2,000 euros), subject to indexing. Thus, starting from 2026, the salaries of regional leaders could increase by at least 5-6 times. However, a high-ranking federal official, quoted by the journalist, believes that the actual increase will be even greater – approximately 10 times.The difficulty in accurately analyzing the incomes of officials is related to a law adopted in 2023, according to which asset declarations are published in an anonymous and generalized form. The latest official data on governors’ incomes dates back to 2021. At that time, according to estimations by the newspaper “Kommersant”, the average annual salary of a governor was 13.2 million rubles, or approximately 1.1 million rubles per month.Details, HERE“