Russia’s Regional Leaders Spend Millions on Bodyguards as Militarisation Spreads Across the Country

Spending on the personal security of Russian regional governors has nearly doubled since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reflecting a sharp rise in security concerns among local elites.

According to Vedomosti on February 9, citing procurement analysis by the Russian tender tracking system “Tenderplan,” regional administrations spent approximately $660,000 on security in 2021.

That figure surged to around $1.02 million in 2022 and reached a record high of $1.33 million in 2023. Although spending slightly decreased to $1.16 million in 2024, it rose again to $1.25 million in 2025.

The number of public tenders for governor security also increased. As Vedomosti reports, just eight such tenders were issued in 2021. Over the following four years, the numbers rose to 13, 16, 14, and 14 respectively.

The trend is particularly visible in Russia’s western regions bordering Ukraine. In the Bryansk region, the local government allocated roughly $93,000 for the protection of Governor Alexander Bogomaz, according to procurement documents reviewed by Vedomosti.

The contract was awarded to the local branch of the National Guard’s non-departmental security service.

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As specified in the contract, the governor is protected by two bodyguards—one working around the clock for approximately $6,700 per month, and another operating only on weekdays for about $1,100 monthly.

Their duties include protection against “criminal and unlawful threats,” securing locations and travel routes, crime prevention, participation in fire safety measures, and enforcing internal access control wherever the governor is present.

The rise in security-related spending coincides with a broader trend of militarization and domestic control in Russia since the launch of its war against Ukraine.

Earlier, Alexander Kharichev, head of the Presidential Directorate for Monitoring and Analyzing Social Processes, warned that Russia faces the risk of internal conflict, elite decay, and system collapse due to growing societal and political tensions. He described the war against Ukraine as a “cleansing” for the Russian elite and called for a new patriotic ideology to prevent further erosion of trust and national identity.

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