Page 99 - RusRPTApr23

6.0 Public Sector 6.1 Budget
Russia’s federal budget deficit for the first ten days of March has already exceeded the planned RUB2.9bn for the entire year of 2023, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin admitted on March 24. (chart) As bne IntelliNews reported, Russia ended 2022 with 2.3% deficit, more than the planned 2%, after oil and gas revenues crashed in December following the December 5 EU embargo on crude oil imports. The budget had been in surplus for 11 out of 12 months but revenues dropped like a stone just as the state made its large annual social payments that added to the gap between income and outgoings.
This year started badly too when the monthly deficit hit RUB1.76 trillion deficit – more than half of what was planned as a deficit for the whole year. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov explained at the time that much of those social spending costs have been moved to January to front load the spending, rather than save it up for the end of the year, and certain tax reporting rules have been changed that also had a material impact on the deficit results. At the same time oil and gas revenues were hit again by the February 5 embargo by the EU on Russia’s export of oil products.
99 RUSSIA Country Report Russia April 2023 www.intellinews.com