Reuters: The Kremlin Has Turned Against The Oligarchs
- 4.10.2026, 6:45
War expenses are rising.
This year, Russia’s wealthiest individuals covered more than 1% of government spending through “voluntary” donations for the war, which they agreed upon with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in March. This was reported by Reuters.
The closed-door meeting with Putin was attended by Russia’s leading business figures, most of whom are subject to Western sanctions. In September, Putin stated that “hundreds of billions” of rubles were donated following that meeting.
This year, Russia will have a budget deficit of 3.2% of GDP, or 7.3 trillion rubles ($87 billion), which is double the initial target of 1.6% of GDP. Without the donations, which have already reached 471 billion rubles (more than $5.6 billion) since the beginning of the year, the deficit could have risen to 3.4% of GDP.
The Kremlin stated that the unnamed businessman who proposed this initiative argued that many wealthy Russians accumulated their fortunes in the 1990s thanks to their connections with the state, and therefore it is now their duty to contribute to the state budget.
The Russian government plans to raise 385 billion rubles (approximately $4.6 billion) from the sale of assets that have been seized from private businesses in recent years as part of the largest redistribution of property since the privatization of the 1990s. Among the reasons cited by the authorities for this move were violations of the law, corruption, and foreign ownership of strategic assets.
In 2025, the Russian government raised taxes and increased borrowing to finance the deficit and maintain spending on the military and security, which is scheduled to account for 38% of all budget expenditures this year.
Revenue from contributions designated in budget documents as “voluntary contributions” exceeded revenue from the corporate excess profits tax. This tax is mainly paid by metallurgical and chemical companies that produce fertilizers, which have reaped significant profits thanks to high global prices for their products.
The Russian government is increasingly seeking new sources of revenue. For next year, it plans another round of tax increases and a crackdown on tax evasion schemes.
One of the tax increases, which is expected to generate an additional 1 trillion rubles in revenue in 2027, will affect income from bank deposits, which, due to high interest rates, have become a significant source of income for many people.