Russia’s police force is facing a serious shortage of officers, with resignations happening every day and some units suffering from workforce shortfalls of up to 40%, a deputy interior minister told lawmakers on Wednesday.
Igor Zubov delivered the warning during a debate in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, on amendments that would allow deputy heads of transport police departments—which oversee airports, railway stations and other transport hubs— to review administrative offense reports in order to reduce the workload on frontline officers.
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“Of course, the prestige of service in the police has now fallen,” Zubov said. “In market conditions, the level of wages and social benefits does not correspond to expectations. Therefore, yes, we are losing personnel. Employees resign every day. The number of people hired does not cover this understaffing. In some services, it reaches 40%.”
He added that salaries would rise, but “not as much as we would like.”
170,000 unfiled positions
The Interior Ministry has acknowledged shortages for some time. In March 2025, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said the ministry was lacking “more than 170,000” officers. Later the same year, at a separate meeting attended by President Vladimir Putin, he gave a more precise figure of 172,000 unfilled positions.
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A 2025 Interior Ministry presentation showed significant staffing gaps in key branches of the police. The criminal investigation department was operating with almost a quarter of its positions empty, the patrol police service was missing nearly a third of its officers, drug control units were short by roughly a quarter, and bodies responsible for preliminary investigations also faced shortages of more than one‑fifth of their required staff.
Kolokoltsev has said that working conditions contributed to the exodus. He reported that nearly half of Russia’s experienced officers left the force in 2024. He also dismissed several unit commanders who failed to grant officers their legally required leave, a practice he said, “inevitably led to increased tension.”
Despite the shortfall, Russia still maintains one of the world’s highest police‑to‑population ratios. Official figures show that in 2024, the country had 643 Interior Ministry law enforcement officers per 100,000 residents. For comparison, the United States has about 256 police officers per 100,000 people, China 120, India 128, and the European Union average is around 335.
According to Vedomosti, a leading Russian business newspaper, the average salary for employees in Russia’s law enforcement structures (including the Interior Ministry and police) is 60,000 rubles (about €657) per month nationwide.