President Putin increased his own salary and that of Prime Minister Medvedev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has just signed a decree increasing his salary and that of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev by 2.65 times.

This information was officially published on the Kremlin website today (April 14), a few days after the salaries of the Russian President and other government officials for 2013 were announced. The last time government officials received a salary increase was in 2012, raising the President's salary by approximately $1,752 per month and the Chancellor's by $1,400 per month.

In 2013, Putin's income was 3.6 million rubles (approximately $103,000), a decrease of about 2.2 million rubles compared to 2012. Meanwhile, Medvedev's total income also decreased by about 1.5 million rubles compared to 2012, down to just over 4.2 million rubles (approximately $117,000).

The incomes of Russia's two top leaders are lower than those of many other Kremlin officials and ministers.

Earlier, at the end of 2013, when asked why he increased the salaries of ministers and deputy ministers but kept his own salary unchanged, President Putin said that he paid high and adequate salaries to those who were talented and helpful to the country, "but for me and the Chancellor, that salary is sufficient."

According to VOV