Russia’s War Within: How Russian Regions are Affected by the War on Ukraine
What is happening in Russia, far away from the front line, where the employment force is shrinking, companies are having to close, and whole regions are losing their young population? A new study from the University of Greifswald shows how the Ukraine War is affecting the Russian society from within and why these regional effects are decisive in determining how resilient Russia’s economy and the State will remain in the long term. The effects are particularly strong in remote regions of Siberia and the Far East, where wartime losses, relocation, and economic decline are worsening the labour shortages and increasing regional disparities.
The war on Ukraine is changing Russia much more than just the immediate effects of the conflict. The new study “Russia’s War Within - How Disparities between Russian Regions Are Growing in the Wake of the War on Ukraine” https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.33003.91683/1 is the first detailed investigation of how the burdens of the war are affecting the economy, population, and society in the various regions of Russia. The geography and regional science scholar, Prof. Dr. Helmut Klüter, former Professor of Regional Geography at the University of Greifswald, analyses 67 maps, 95 illustrations and 55 tables in his study. His analysis shows that it is above all remote regions of Siberia, the Far East, and the northern European part of Russia that have been hit particularly hard by the effects of the war.
“It is long since the war developments were only felt on the front lines. The war has forged its own normality which is increasingly becoming an integral part of everyday life for the Russian population,” explains Klüter. This is particularly evident in the labour market: the agriculture, construction, healthcare, and infrastructure sectors are suffering from a massive loss of men of working age to the armed forces. At the same time, investments and commercial activities are becoming increasingly concentrated in the metropolitan areas in and around Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The war affects the regions in very different ways
According to the findings of the study, the loss of population as a result of the war varies strongly from region to region. The republics Tuva, Altai, and Buryatia, as well as the regions of the Far East, are among those that have been hit particularly hard. The loss rates in those regions are in parts several times higher than in the large urban areas. The war is thus exacerbating regional disparities that existed previously. The war is also taking a particularly strong toll on the economy. The study shows that the number of medium-sized and large companies sank from around 3.77 million in 2017 to approximately 2.49 million at the end of 2025.
At the same time, investments in 2025 sank for the first time in years, even in absolute monetary terms – and not just in relation to the inflation rate. For example, investments in the railways sank by half when compared to the preceding year. For many regions, this means increasing wear and tear instead of modernisation. There are also demographic effects. The birth rate sank from 1.9 million in 2014 to 1.175 million in 2025. Young citizens are increasingly relocating from rural regions, as well as small and medium-sized towns, whilst social inequality is also on the rise.
The study also describes a growing militarisation of the language, education sector, and public communication. The propaganda is increasingly depicting the war as the unavoidable consequence of geopolitical constraints. In other words, the geographical conditions, historical claims to territories, and international power dynamics are being presented as seemingly inevitable causes of war. As a result, attention is drawn away from political decisions and those in charge. “It is exactly for this reason that academia must look beyond the geopolitical buzzwords and point out which people and regions are actually bearing the specific consequences,” explains Klüter. “Behind political decisions lie human lives, economic loss and regions whose futures are at stake.”
Further information
The study builds on Klüter’s 2023 research paper titled “Criticism and Resistance against the Ukraine War in Russia.” It is based on statistical data, regional analyses, and long-standing academic ties with scholars in Russia. These experiences shape Klüter's research: between 1974 and 2019, Klüter completed a total of 47 periods of teaching and research in Russia.
Publication:
Klüter, H. (2026). Russlands Krieg nach innen - Zu den Auswirkungen des Ukraine-Konflikts auf russische Regionen https://www.researchgate.net/publication/412137045_2026-08-11_H_Kluter_Russlands_Krieg_nach_innen_RegungG_64 (Regionalwissenschaft und Geographie, Volume 64). Greifswald.
Summary in English: Russia's War Within—How Disparities between Russian Regions Are Growing in the Wake of the War on Ukraine https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.33003.91683/1
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Helmut Klüter (retired)
Institute of Geography and Geology
Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Straße 16, 17489 Greifswald
klueter@uni-greifswald.de
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