Russia is planning to increase defence expenditure by 32.8% to RUB3.286 trillion (USD80.4 billion) in 2015, according to the head of the State Duma Committee on Defence. If implemented the figure would represent Moscow's largest annual increase in defence expenditure since 2001. Speaking to Interfax on 16 October, the head of the committee, Admiral Vladimir Komoye- dov, also stated that spending on defence would subsequently decline by 5.3% in 2016 to RUB3.113 trillion before returning to a growth of 4% in 2017 with the budget reaching RUB3.237 trillion. Despite the large increase in 2015, this revised expenditure plan would represent a reduction in the three-year plan for 2015-17 published by the Russian Ministry of Finance in July 2014, which previously projected spending on defence reaching RUB3.523 trillion by 2017.
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