Russia is one step closer to approving the largest state budget in the country’s history, following preliminary approval in the Duma today.
The budget is to be increased by 25 percent – and a record amount is to go to military spending, AP reports.
Military spending will exceed social spending for the first time, if the budget is adopted in its current form, AP reports.
The budget comes at a time when the Kremlin wants to secure support ahead of the Russian presidential election in March next year.
– The budget proposal is about getting the war in Ukraine in order and getting ready for an indefinite confrontation with the West, Richard Connolly, an expert on the Russian economy and military at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told AP.
“The most militarized budget”
The Russian Ministry of Finance estimates that the expenses will amount to 411 billion dollars, corresponding to around 4,300 billion kroner.
The Russian budget consists of a public part and a secret part – the military spending is kept hidden so as not to reveal the country’s tactics and investments.
The two independent economic journalists, Farida Rustamova and Maksim Tovkaylo, report on the Telegram channel Faridaily that around 39 percent of the Russian state budget should go to defense and the judiciary.
They call it “the most militarized budget in the country’s modern history”.
Expects to finance the majority
Despite the sanctions, Russia still makes a lot of money from exports, thanks in large part to China and India still buying oil and gas.
Therefore, the Russian Ministry of Finance calculates that it can largely finance the greatly expanded budget, but go with a deficit corresponding to 0.8 percent of the country’s GDP.
Whether the optimistic calculations pan out remains to be seen.
The budget will be finally revised on November 17.