For the first six months of 2026, Russia’s federal budget deficit reached 5.85 trillion rubles, exceeding the approved annual benchmark of 3.79 trillion rubles before the end of the first half of the year, according to an operational report from Russia’s Accounts Chamber, published on September 23.
According to RIA Novosti, the country’s public debt increased over January–June by 6.8% to 37.5 trillion rubles. Debt service expenses for the same period totaled 1.8 trillion rubles—45.3% of the figure in the consolidated budget estimates for the year.
The most direct market indicator of the situation with government borrowing is federal loan bonds (OFZ). Net borrowing through OFZ in the first half-year reached 2.3 trillion rubles, which corresponds to 55.9% of the annual program. According to RBC, domestic financing sources overall were executed by 6.1 trillion rubles, exceeding the annual plan for this metric.
The revenue side looks mixed. Total budget revenues for January–June amounted to 18.5 trillion rubles, up 12% year-on-year for the same period last year. The increase was driven by non-oil and gas receipts: they rose by 22.6% and reached 15 trillion rubles—largely due to tax changes in 2026. Oil and gas revenues, by contrast, fell by 18.2%, to 3.5 trillion rubles, despite higher global oil prices. For the same period, expenditures amounted to 24.4 trillion rubles, reflecting accelerated advance payments under government contracts and an increase in defense-related items.
Since the beginning of the year, the National Wealth Fund has decreased by 311 billion rubles to 13.1 trillion rubles as of 1 July; the liquid portion of the NWF fell by 473.3 billion rubles to 3.6 trillion rubles, according to RIA Novosti.
The Accounts Chamber noted that the deficit matches the cash-plan figure for 1 July 2026 for the first half-year and amounts to 95.5% of the annual cash-plan figure for 2026. In other words, over six months the country spent practically the entire annual deficit reserve set when the budget was adopted.
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, speaking to state television on 21 September, said that the deficit would be about 3% of GDP by the end of the year—almost double the original plan of 1.6% of GDP.
“During the execution of the budget, additional needs for financing and spending arose. For these purposes, additional sources of financing will be provided,” the minister said.
The specific amount of additional borrowing beyond the initially planned 5.5 trillion rubles has not yet been announced by the Ministry of Finance.
Already this week, the government is considering a draft federal budget for 2027. Siluanov announced a review of borrowing parameters based on the results of the first half-year. The key benchmark for assessing the further cost of servicing a debt of 37.5 trillion rubles remains the key rate of the Bank of Russia: on 11 September, the regulator kept it at 14% per year, breaking a long cycle of monetary-policy easing. If the rate remains at this level, pressure on the budget’s spending side in the second half of the year will continue to build.