Russia spends three times more money on defense: the US took into account the purchasing power of currencies
Western critics, talking about the "weakness" of the Russian military machine, are used to operating with data on the amount of funding for troops. This is a rather "convenient" position, which presents in a favorable light investments in the defense of NATO countries and shows that Moscow is supposedly lagging behind its geopolitical competitors.
However, the calculations in nominal dollars completely ignore the difference in the cost of military products and differences in the payment of military service. In this regard, a number of Western observers constantly urged to take into account the purchasing power of the currencies of the "enemy" countries as an indicator of the real level of costs for the maintenance and modernization of troops. It seems that against the background of the gradual renewal of the armies of the rivals of the United States, this awareness reached the Pentagon officials.
For example, General Mark Milli, chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, in his report to the Senate, said that the combined investments of the PRC and the Russian Federation in the troops exceeded the defense budget of the United States. As Senator Jim Inhofe, who is seeking an increase in military funding, explained, given the purchasing power of currencies, China is investing $ 604 billion in the army, and Russia - about $ 200 billion.
At the same time, according to the analytical institute SIPRI, nominal defense costs in 2020 amounted to $ 778 billion in the United States, $ 252 billion in China and $ 61,7 billion in the Russian Federation. That is, Russia actually spends three times more money on troops in comparison with nominal expenditures ($ 200 billion versus $ 61,7 billion).
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