Military budget of Russia

However, in the wake of the breakup of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Russian Federation as an independent state, between 1991 and 1997 Russia's defence spending fell by a factor of eight in real prices.

In 1998, when Russian Federation experienced a severe financial crisis, its military expenditure in real terms reached its lowest point— barely one-quarter of the USSR's in 1991, and two-fifths of the level of 1992, the first year of Russia's independent existence.

[5] However, a collapse in the value of the Rouble greatly reduced the dollar-value of the planned 2015 Russian military budget to US$52 billion, despite a 33% increase in its Rouble-value to 3.3 trillion.

[6] Due to the ongoing crisis the planned 33% increase had to be reduced to 25.6%, meaning the 2015 Russian military budget totalled 3.1 trillion rubles.

According to the IISS "By simple observation..[the military budget] would appear to be lower than is suggested by the size of the armed forces or the structure of the military–industrial complex, and thus neither of the figures is particularly useful for comparative analysis".

[19] The International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) estimated the 2013 Russian military budget at US$68.2 billion, a 31% rise since 2008.

[20] IISS noted in their 2013 report that this meant that Russia had passed the UK and Saudi Arabia to become the world's third largest military spender, though exchange rates had also been a factor in this.