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Putin Gives Himself a Salary Increase

President Vladimir Putin is set to receive an almost threefold increase in his salary, according to a decree published Monday on the Kremlin website.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will also see his salary increased by 2.65 times, said the decree that came into effect last Friday.

Putin's salary is currently estimated at about 270,000 rubles ($7,500) a month or 3,360,000 rubles per year, Vedomosti reported.

The decree comes after government officials income declarations were made public on Friday, showing that Putin received 3,672,208 rubles ($102,660) in 2013 and Medvedev took home 4,259,525 rubles — a decrease from the previous year's earnings.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the difference was accounted for by unused holiday dates in 2012, for which both Putin and Medvedev received financial compensation, and that their salaries had actually remained consistent.

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