Russia’s richest pay $5.6 billion into state budget in wartime contributions

Russia's wealthiest citizens paid 471 billion rubles, more than $5.6 billion, into the state budget in 2026 through what officials label “voluntary contributions,” Bloomberg reported, citing budget documents. The payments amount to over 1% of all Russian government spending and helped keep the deficit at a projected 3.2% of GDP rather than 3.4%.

. Reuters reported the contributions were discussed in March at a closed-door meeting between Putin and leading businesspeople, after which Putin said businesspeople had paid “hundreds of billions” of rubles. The Kremlin denies Putin personally asked for the money, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying one businessman simply offered a “very large” contribution unprompted.

Russia also plans to raise 385 billion rubles this year by selling off assets seized from private businesses, which authorities attribute to law violations, corruption or foreign ownership. Military and security spending will account for about 38% of this year's budget, with defense spending for 2027 planned at 17.1 trillion rubles, 27% above original allocations.

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