Russian billionaires 'volunteer' to fund state budget after closed-door meeting with Putin, Reuters reports
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Russia's wealthiest citizens have funded over 1% of Moscow's state budget in 2026, "voluntarily" donating hundreds of billions of rubles to the government, Reuters reported on Oct. 2, citing state budget documents.
The donations followed a closed-door meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March.
Wealthy Russians have already contributed a total of 471 billion rubles (over $5.6 billion) to the state budget in 2026, according to Reuters. The payments are listed as "voluntary receipts" in budget documents.
Western sanctions, wartime expenditures, and Ukrainian strikes have squeezed Russia's economy over the past five years, leading to stagnant growth, inflation, high interest rates, and low wages.
Yet Moscow continues to ramp up military spending, forcing the state to raise taxes and find new sources of revenue to fund its full-scale invasion.
Putin's meeting in March 2026 gathered elite Russian businessmen, many under Western sanctions. The list of attendees has not been disclosed.
According to the Kremlin, one participant voluntarily offered to donate a "very large sum of money" to the government, arguing that wealthy Russians who amassed large fortunes in the 1990s due to state ties now had an obligation to support the budget.
Putin reportedly agreed. Private contributions from Russian billionaires increased substantially after March.
Russia nonetheless faces a budget deficit of $87 billion for 2026, or 3.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The deficit is twice the state goal of 1.6%. Without the "donations" from Russian elites, the deficit would reach 3.4% of the GDP.
