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Russia Faces Major Police Shortage as Vacancies Reach Up to 40% in Key Units
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The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs is facing a critical manpower crisis. Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev reported to the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption that 80,000 police officers resigned in 2025.
This figure represents a 7% increase compared to the previous year, according to Interfax on February 19.
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“The problem of staffing internal affairs bodies has taken on a more massive character today, even compared to previous years... Reserves for increasing the efficiency of our activities are practically exhausted; they no longer exist,” Kolokoltsev stated.
He added that the current personnel are working “beyond their capabilities due to the increased workload.” Specific departments are feeling the strain acutely, with a 40% vacancy rate in the patrol service, 30% in criminal investigation, and 27% in preliminary investigation units. More than 25% of district police officer positions are also vacant.
The shortage is widespread across the country. “In 41 regions, the shortage exceeds 25% of personnel. In 19 district-level units, more than half of the employees are missing,” Kolokoltsev noted.
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He identified low wages and heavy workloads as the primary reasons for the exodus. For example, a first-year police officer in Moscow earns no more than 86,000 rubles, which is half of the city's average salary. Additionally, long wait times for housing assistance, which can stretch for decades, have made the profession less attractive.
Under a presidential decree, the maximum authorized strength of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 2025 is set at 938,000 people.
However, with the current vacancies, the actual number of working staff is approximately 726,000. This means there are about 497 active officers for every 100,000 citizens, despite the official target being 642.
Even with these shortages, Russia maintains one of the largest security forces in the region. Only Belarus has a higher concentration of police per capita. In 2025, the total number of authorized positions across Russia’s military, police, investigative committees, and prison services exceeded 3.9 million people.
Earlier, Germany ordered the departure of a Russian diplomat based in Berlin after authorities had detained a woman holding both German and Ukrainian citizenship.
The individual was taken into custody on suspicion of conducting espionage activities. This incident added to the growing diplomatic tensions as European security services intensified their efforts to identify and disrupt clandestine intelligence operations within their borders.
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