The deficit of Russian federal budget it was 2.4 trillion rubles ($28.93 billion) in the first quarter of the year, due to Moscow’s heavy spending and falling energy revenues, Russia’s finance ministry said on Friday.
In the same quarter of 2022 Russia had recorded a surplus of 1.13 trillion rubles, but since then significant expenditures to support the Russian military campaign in Ukraine and Western sanctions on its crucial oil and gas exports have hit government coffers.
Russia’s overall state revenues fell 20.8 percent in the quarter from 2022 to 5.7 trillion rubles, due to a 45 percent decline in energy revenues, which fell to 1.64 trillion rubles, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Finance.
Spending, on the other hand, accelerated by 34% to 8.1 trillion rubles. The increase of military production and massive state spending helped keep Russian industry alive and cushion the economic fallout from the Russian campaign in Ukraine and the impact of Western sanctions.