Russian billionaires have donated more than $5.6 billion to the Russian Federation's budget, according to Reuters
This year, Russia’s wealthiest individuals accounted for more than 1% of the country’s government spending through so-called “voluntary” contributions to the budget.
According to Russian state budget documents, since the beginning of the year, the total amount of such “voluntary contributions” has already reached 471 billion rubles, or more than 5.6 billion dollars.
Russia’s leading business figures attended a closed-door meeting with Vladimir Putin. Most of them are subject to Western sanctions.
In September, Putin stated that following this meeting, “hundreds of billions” of rubles had been transferred to the Russian budget.
The Russian budget deficit is expected to reach 3.2% of GDP, or 7.3 trillion rubles (about $87 billion), in 2026. This is twice as much as the initial plan, which called for a deficit of 1.6% of GDP.
At the same time, without “voluntary” contributions from Russian billionaires, the budget deficit could have risen to 3.4% of GDP.
The Kremlin stated that the initiative for such payments was proposed by an unnamed Russian businessman.
His argument was that many wealthy Russians accumulated their fortunes in the 1990s thanks to their connections with the state. Therefore, they now allegedly have a duty to contribute to the state budget.
In this way, the Russian government is effectively using the substantial wealth of businesspeople as an additional source of funding for government expenditures.
In addition to “voluntary” contributions, the Russian government is counting on significant revenue from the sale of assets that have been seized from private businesses in recent years.
In 2026, the Russian government plans to generate 385 billion rubles, or approximately 4.6 billion dollars, from such sales.
This represents the largest redistribution of property in Russia since the privatization of the 1990s. Among the reasons cited by Russian authorities for the seizure of assets were violations of the law, corruption, and foreign ownership of strategic assets.
In 2025, the Russian government raised taxes and increased government borrowing to cover the budget deficit while maintaining high levels of spending on the military and security.
This year, Russia plans to allocate 38% of all budget expenditures to defense, military needs, and security.
At the same time, revenue from so-called “voluntary contributions” has already exceeded revenue from the corporate windfall tax. This tax is primarily paid by metallurgical and chemical companies, particularly fertilizer producers, which have reaped significant profits thanks to high global prices for their products.
Russian authorities are increasingly seeking additional sources of budget revenue. For 2027, the Russian government plans another round of tax increases and a crackdown on tax evasion schemes.
One of the new tax measures is expected to bring in an additional 1 trillion rubles to the budget in 2027.
Specifically, this involves taxing income from bank deposits. Due to high interest rates, these deposits have become a significant source of income for many Russians.
Thus, the Russian government is simultaneously increasing the tax burden, raising funds from major business tycoons, selling seized assets, and increasing borrowing in an effort to maintain high levels of funding for military and security expenditures.
Russian billionaires agreed to these contributions with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin during a closed-door meeting in March, according to Reuters.
Sanctions against Russia do not, by themselves, destroy the Kremlin’s network of influence among American political and business elites. Evidence of this is the scandal that recently erupted over the wedding party of Donald Trump’s eldest son, which was paid for by a Russian oligarch close to Putin.
