In the wake of the Russian attack on Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions. This now has consequences for the Kremlin’s budget.
In January, Moscow drew on its gold and currency reserves in Chinese yuan to cover gaps in the national budget. A total of 2.27 billion yuan (around 309 million euros) and 3.6 tons of gold were sold, the Russian Ministry of Finance announced on Monday, according to the state news agency TASS.
“The funds thus obtained were transferred to the state budget account to cover the deficit,” it said in a statement. The January hole in the state budget was estimated at 1.76 trillion rubles (23 billion euros).
59 percent more than in the previous year
A total of 3.1 trillion rubles (around 40 billion euros) was spent, which corresponds to an increase of 59 percent compared to January of the previous year. The ministry has not given any reason for the additional spending.
Russia has been waging a war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine since February 2022. The West has therefore imposed severe economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
State budget revenue from the oil and gas business fell by 46 percent compared to January 2022. According to the Ministry of Finance, Russia currently has reserves of 10.4 billion euros, 307.4 billion yuan and 551.2 tons of gold.
