According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, which studied the budget bill submitted by the government to the State Duma at the end of September, 2.5 billion rubles will be allocated annually in 2026 and 2027 for the maintenance of the "Russian University of Spetsnaz."
This educational institution, founded in 2013 on the proposal of Ramzan Kadyrov, is engaged in recruiting and training contract soldiers for the Russian army before their deployment to the war with Ukraine. In addition, employees of state corporations and agencies, including the Federal Bailiff Service, undergo training here.
Previously, the institution was funded by Chechen businessman Movsadi Alviyev, who has close ties to Ramzan Kadyrov, and the expenditure volumes were significantly lower. For example, in 2024, revenues in the form of contributions and income from the "university's" activities amounted to 451 million rubles.
The private training center "Russian University of Spetsnaz," located in Gudermes (Chechnya), offered paid courses in various combat disciplines during peacetime. In particular, servicemen of the Chechen military police battalion trained here before being deployed to Syria. The institution also trained security service employees of companies such as Russian Railways, Gazprom, Tatneft, and other state enterprises.
With the start of military operations, a recruitment center opened at the "University of Spetsnaz," sending volunteers to the war in Ukraine. In the first months of the invasion, before the announcement of mobilization and the deployment of a large-scale campaign to hire contract soldiers, Chechnya was one of the few regions through which one could get to the front.
In 2024, Vladimir Putin visited the "University of Spetsnaz." According to the state news agency TASS, by that time, over 19,000 fighters had been trained within the institution's walls, subsequently sent to the combat zone in Ukraine. Earlier that same year, Adam Kadyrov, the son of Ramzan Kadyrov, became the curator of the institution. At the same time, the training center was named after Vladimir Putin.