Russian regions are entering the deepest budget crisis in decades. By September, most of them had exhausted their financial reserves, and six constituent entities of the federation had less than one percent of their annual budget in their accounts – enough money for only a few days of expenses, UNN reports with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service.
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According to intelligence data, the Arkhangelsk region, with an annual budget of 156 billion rubles, maintains a reserve of only 50 million – 0.03% of planned expenditures. Kalmykia has 40 million left, Volgograd region – 100 million, Belgorod region – 200 million rubles. Ulyanovsk, Irkutsk and Murmansk regions have saved no more than 0.5–0.7% of annual funding.
The lack of liquidity has already led to sequestration. The Irkutsk region is cutting 4.9 billion rubles in education and healthcare. In 12 regions, teachers' salaries have been cut. To plug the deficit, local authorities in the Yaroslavl, Ulyanovsk regions and Dagestan are preparing to raise taxes for small businesses, and in the Orenburg, Novosibirsk regions and Krasnoyarsk Krai
The cumulative deficit of regional budgets increased from 397.8 billion rubles in June to 724.8 billion in September. Revenues fell in 26 regions in nominal terms, and taking into account inflation – in 53. In the first half of the year, 67 constituent entities of the federation ended the year with a "hole" in local finances. The largest deficit is in Kemerovo (34% of revenues), Arkhangelsk (31%), Murmansk (28%) regions and the Komi Republic (30%)
The intelligence service emphasizes that financial pressure is reflected in the social situation. In September, Russians purchased 1.94 million packages of antidepressants worth 13.8 billion rubles – 33% more than last year.
By the end of the year, the situation with regional budgets will only worsen – there are no new sources of income, and expenses continue to grow