Russian Businesses are Being Forced to Pay “Tax” for Failing to Meet Mobilization Quotas

In Russian regions, local authorities have begun demanding monetary payments from companies for failing to provide workers to participate in the war against Ukraine.

The Dozhd TV channel and The Moscow Times reported on this scheme for collecting funds from businesses.

Journalists obtained a document titled “Plan for Selecting Candidates for Contract Military Service” in the Muysky district of Buryatia. According to the document, every company is required to ensure that a specified number of employees are sent to the front lines.

This quota for each individual company is calculated based on its total workforce. The calculation also takes into account the number of men aged 20 to 60 who work at the company.

A source at Dozhd close to the republic’s administration claims that a similar fundraising scheme is in place throughout Russia, not just in Buryatia. The overall plan for recruiting contract soldiers is issued from above, and local authorities distribute it among enterprises.

If company management is unwilling to send its employees to war, they are offered an alternative. Businesses can enter into a special agreement for the so-called “selection of candidates” to participate in combat operations.

The cost of this service is 100,000 rubles ($1,300) per person. With this payment, companies effectively buy their way out of having to send their own staff to the ranks of the Russian army.

The existence of this scheme was also confirmed by a businessman operating in Siberia. He described in detail the pressure exerted by local Russian authorities on the private sector.

Previously, the Siberian businessman was required to send two people to the war each month, under threat of inspections by regulatory agencies. Now, the entrepreneur is being forced to pay 450,000 rubles ($5,900) for each contractor he is short of to meet the quota.

At the same time, Russian authorities continue to increase mobilization quotas. In 2026, enterprises in the Muysky district alone are required to send 61 people to the front, which is nearly double last year’s figures. These targets are rising despite the fact that in 2025, only 13 of the planned 37 people signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. 

Requirements to recruit contract soldiers or pay money apply not only to private companies but also to the public sector. District hospitals in Buryatia have been ordered to send two medical workers each to the front, despite an acute shortage of doctors in the region.

Another source of the Dozhd TV channel added that potential contract soldiers are often poached by other Russian regions, which offer higher contract payments. As a result, district heads are failing to meet their quotas en masse, creating serious problems for them.