Russia's healthcare and education have lost out on more than a trillion rubles since the war began, an investigation calculates
Russia's healthcare and education sectors have received at least one trillion rubles less than they would have if state spending had kept pace with inflation since the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Novaya Gazeta Europe has calculated — 728 billion rubles less for healthcare and 322 billion for education. The outlet's reporters identified more than 800 cases of staff cuts and institution closures in the social sphere since 2021, more than a quarter of them in 2026.
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Key points
- Novaya Gazeta Europe calculates healthcare has received 728 billion rubles less, and education 322 billion less, than if spending had kept pace with inflation since the war began.
- Its reporters counted more than 800 cases of staff cuts and institution closures in the social sphere since 2021, more than a quarter of them in 2026.
- The study links the sharp cuts, which began in 2025, to the end of the wartime economic boom of 2023–2024.
What happened
The calculation measures the two main parts of Russia's social sphere — healthcare and education — against what their budgets would have been had they risen with inflation since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On that measure the combined gap is at least one trillion rubles.
The cuts the outlet counted are not confined to poorer regions: its list runs from Karelia and the Vladimir region to industrial and resource-extracting regions such as Kemerovo, Sverdlovsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai and Yakutia.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That Novaya Gazeta Europe's calculation puts the combined shortfall at at least one trillion rubles — 728 billion for healthcare and 322 billion for education.
- That the outlet counted more than 800 cases of staff cuts and closures since 2021, more than a quarter of them in 2026.
What we don't know yet
- The Russian government's response to the calculation — no response was in the reporting read.
- The exact number of cuts and closures — the outlet gave a floor of more than 800, not an exact figure.
Claim by claim
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Why this label: The figures are Novaya Gazeta Europe's own calculations, reported by Meduza and carried as the outlet's calculation — a shortfall measured against inflation-matched spending, not a nominal cut figure.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The count is the outlet's own tally, stated in its terms; it gave no exact figure beyond 'more than 800'.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The named regions and the link to the end of the wartime boom are the study authors' findings, stated as theirs.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
It puts a figure on what the war is costing Russians at home: on this calculation, hospitals and schools have together forgone more than a trillion rubles of inflation-matched funding, and the closures and staff cuts the outlet counted are accelerating in 2026.
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Published in Checking state — the investigation's figures are its own calculations and are carried as such, and checking continues. Basis: Novaya Gazeta Europe's investigation, reported by Meduza.