The war in Ukraine is simultaneously a business and social mobility opportunity in Russia: at the elite level, Western companies leaving Russia hand their assets to Russian oligarchs for free, enriching the elite through self-dealing; at the lower end, the state recruits 30,000 soldiers monthly (350,000 annually without mobilization) by offering 7-9 times median wage, with $90,000 equivalent in rubles paid to families of those killed—a compelling incentive in impoverished Russian provinces.