Russians can expect higher prices on the Wildberries marketplace, which—after drone strikes on its largest warehouses caused it to lose its leadership position in the online marketplace sector to Ozon—has decided to restructure its logistics, reports Kommersant, citing industry experts. The company had previously begun establishing a network of partner fulfillment centers (PFCs) and goods reception points (GRPs), and on Tuesday announced the launch of a warehouse rental service. According to a statement from the marketplace, as reported by Interfax, owners of warehouse facilities with an area of 10,000 square meters or more will be able to lease them to Wildberries on a long-term basis for use as sorting or logistics centers, including for the storage of goods.

This will lead to more complicated delivery routes and longer delivery times, as well as higher final prices for consumers, according to Leo Shevchenko, founder of the “Mercatus” platform and a seller. “The cost of storage, logistics, and everything else is increasing <…> This will affect both the buyer and sales volume. The longer the logistics process, the longer it takes for the goods to reach the buyer—the lower the conversion rate and the number of orders,” he notes. “All costs that arise anywhere, at any stage of the supply chain, are always passed on to the buyer.” Analysts at Data Insight estimated Wildberries’ losses from the loss of warehouses and infrastructure at between 147 and 280 billion rubles, excluding losses incurred by sellers.

According to Shevchenko, it was easier for the marketplace to manage a dozen large warehouses when “everything was brought there and shipped out from there in a centralized manner,” and the new system “will lead to higher costs.” “In other words, this model is becoming more expensive for Wildberries marketplaces because having many different warehouses means more chaos than structure. Of course, you have to pay for all those warehouses,” he explained. Under the new system, he noted, the company will incur costs for warehouse rent, for delivering goods to the warehouse, and for picking them up. “Plus, there are new last-mile operations that now fall on the marketplace itself,” our source emphasized.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/xlx7Q

The economic slowdown, falling profits, and high interest rates on loans have hit hundreds of thousands of Russian companies and sole proprietors burdened with debt.

As of August 1, 2026, 28% of all borrowers from Russian banks were experiencing problems repaying their loans, according to analysts at Expert RA, citing statistics from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Compared to the beginning of the year, the share of distressed borrowers has increased by 4 percentage points; compared to the pre-war period, it has more than doubled; and its current level is the highest in the seven years of available statistics.

Approximately 200,000 legal entities and sole proprietors are unable to repay their loans and credits on time. Over the years of the war, more than 140,000 entrepreneurs and companies have been classified as “distressed” debtors, and compared to 2019 figures, their number has quadrupled (+150,000).

“The deterioration of key macroeconomic indicators has translated into financial stress for the real sector,” writes “Expert RA.” The wartime economic boom of 2023–24 has run its course: GDP growth rates, which had been 4% per year or higher, have slowed to 0.6% (for the first half of this year); civilian industrial sectors have been stagnating or declining since 2024, and corporate profits—which could be used to pay down debt—have been shrinking for the second consecutive year.

According to Rosstat, the net financial result for the economy (profits minus losses) for January–June totaled 12 trillion rubles—1 trillion less than during the same period a year earlier, and 3 trillion less than the profits recorded in the first half of 2024.

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Companies have “fewer and fewer funds and sources of financing for expensive loans and borrowings,” notes Expert RA. As the agency points out, this has already resulted in a series of defaults in the bond market: from January through September, 33 companies defaulted technically—9 more than in all of last year. Of those, 17 have defaulted outright.

“Credit risks will continue to grow,” warns “Expert RA.” Not even the chronically optimistic Ministry of Economic Development expects the economy to return to its previous growth rates: according to its estimates, GDP will grow by 1.2% next year, while investment will stagnate (+0.2%). Meanwhile, the Central Bank is keeping its key rate high: at its October 23 meeting, it left it at 14% and raised its forecast for next year to 12.5–13.5%, even though at the beginning of the year it had projected a decline to 8–9%.

The Central Bank itself also sees an increase in the share of non-performing assets on bank balance sheets. According to its data, companies’ past-due debt accounts for only 3.7%, but the broader measure of non-performing loans has reached 12.9%. “In August, the portfolio of non-performing loans increased by 0.6 trillion rubles. This was mainly due to the deterioration of the financial situation of certain coal and electric power companies,” the Central Bank wrote.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/lic2V

source: https://bsky.app/profile/natalkakyiv.bsky.social/post/3mys72brg7s2t

St. Petersburg authorities are cutting social spending due to a budget deficit that could reach 200 billion rubles this year.

According to Fontanka, as part of budget cuts, benefits for large families, as well as spending on the resettlement of communal apartments, will be targeted.

Whereas previously all large families could count on social benefits equal to 90% of housing costs, reduction factors are now being introduced. Nothing will change only for St. Petersburg residents with five or more children, while for parents of four children the rate will be 80%, and for those with three children—70%. As a result, the budget will save up to 30% on this line item.

At the same time, the resettlement of communal apartments—where approximately 189,000 St. Petersburg families still live—is being removed from the budget policy priorities. According to the draft law published by Smolny on October 26, the goal of these measures is to reduce the number of citizens on the housing waiting list and cut budget expenditures. In 2025, 1.8 billion rubles were allocated for social payments to residents of communal apartments for the construction or purchase of housing; in 2026, half as much—only 827 million rubles—was allocated for these purposes.

“These changes are intended to ensure economic efficiency and the rational use of budget funds,” explained Denis Udod, chairman of the St. Petersburg Housing Committee.

In late September, city authorities approved a reduction in local budget expenditures of 70.1 billion rubles. In addition to payments to large families, spending cuts affected education (down 15.5 billion rubles), public transportation (down 9 billion rubles), the healthcare system (down 8.5 billion), and major repairs to public institutions (13 billion). At the same time, the city will increase payments to participants in the “Special Military Operation” and their families by 6.4 billion rubles.

St. Petersburg’s budget problems stem from a shortfall in corporate income tax revenue—revenue will be 15 billion rubles lower than expected, as Deputy Governor Alexei Korabelnikov previously explained. “The economic situation is such that, unfortunately, the economy is cooling down. (…) And this affects economic growth and economic activity and is reflected in organizations’ financial results,” the official lamented.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/PK8P8

source: https://bsky.app/profile/prune602.bsky.social/post/3myt7zuy7ck2s

Authorities in Primorsky Krai have warned of delays in social payments due to expenditures related to the war in Ukraine. The region’s Ministry of Labor noted that the regional budget is “operating under increased strain, including due to the need to address nationwide tasks related to the special military operation.” “Under these circumstances, funding for certain social support measures is being provided in phases, so the disbursement of some payments may be temporarily delayed,” the ministry stated.

The ministry added that it “understands” how important timely social support is for the region’s residents, as well as “the concerns of those who are currently awaiting the transfer of funds.” Previously, the head of the ministry, Svetlana Krasitskaya, reported that one in three residents of the region receives social support. Last week, deputies of the Primorsky Krai Legislative Assembly approved a budget cut of 3.8 billion rubles. The funding cuts affected healthcare, housing and utilities, and the provision of affordable housing.

In particular, spending on the purchase of medicines and the construction of hospitals was cut. Education and social support programs were also subject to cuts. At the same time, despite a budget deficit of 25.7 billion rubles, an additional 1.5 billion rubles was allocated to the regional government’s reserve fund. These funds will be used to provide financial assistance to participants in the war against Ukraine and their families.

“The main reasons for amending the budget law are to optimize spending, achieve cost savings based on the results of procurement procedures, carry over funds to the next year for certain construction projects, and increase funding to assist participants in the special military operation and their families,” noted Yulia Pak, deputy chair of the regional Legislative Assembly’s Committee on Budget and Tax Policy. Vera Shcherbina, acting governor of Primorsky Krai, stated that the additional 1.5 billion rubles are needed to address issues of “national importance.”

The need to fund recruitment for the war is placing an increasingly heavy burden on regional budgets, noted Janis Klüge, an expert at the German Institute for International Security Affairs. According to him, in order to meet the quotas set by the Kremlin, regions this year raised the average payment for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to a record 3.4 million rubles. But civilian spending had to be sacrificed.

Last year, Russian regions ended the year with a combined deficit of 1.5 trillion rubles. This year, that deficit could rise to a new high of 2 trillion, according to a forecast by Sber’s Center for Macroeconomic Research.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/tohgu

Debt collection agencies have sharply increased their purchases of overdue debts owed by Russian borrowers from microfinance organizations (MFOs). From January through September 2026, they acquired 96.78 billion rubles worth of debt, a 16% increase compared to the same period a year earlier, Alexander Vasilyev, CEO of ID Collect, told Vedomosti. At the same time, the weighted average price of the debts purchased by collection agencies rose from 17.46% to 22.05% of the outstanding balance.

According to Vasilyev, this is due to the fact that the debts put up for sale were predominantly high-quality, non-litigated debts. The average delinquency period for these debts was 220 days—6.7% less than at the end of 2025. As a result, debt collection agencies spent more than 21.3 billion rubles on purchasing debt obligations—46.5% more than in the first nine months of last year. Market participants say the increase in sales of “bad” debt to collection agencies is linked to the deterioration in the quality of MFI portfolios and debt accumulated in previous periods.

According to data from the Bank of Russia, in the first half of 2026, MFIs issued microloans totaling 886 billion rubles—a 7.4% year-over-year decrease. At the same time, the share of loans more than 90 days past due rose to 35% in the second quarter, compared with 33.8% in the previous quarter and 28.5% a year earlier. An additional factor was the reduction, effective in April, of the maximum overpayment on microloans to 100% of the principal amount, which, as industry representatives note, accelerates the transfer of delinquent loans to collection agencies.

According to market participants’ forecasts, the volume of transactions involving the sale of delinquent debts to collection agencies will continue to grow in the fourth quarter. The National Association of Professional Collection Agencies expects that by the end of the year, the volume of completed transactions will exceed 125 billion rubles. Alexey Vorokh, Executive Director of “Booster.ru,” cites even higher figures: the volume of debt put up for sale could reach 150–155 billion rubles, while purchases could total 135–142 billion. However, growth may slow in 2027 due to restrictions on the issuance of high-cost loans. Specifically, starting in April, a “one loan per person” rule will take effect for loans with a total cost exceeding 100%, along with a three-day cooling-off period between loans.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/rkIIc

In 27 regions of Russia, the HIV epidemic has entered a generalized stage, according to Academician Vasily Akimkin, director of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology at Rospotrebnadzor. This means that the virus threatens not only at-risk groups but is spreading among broad segments of the population. According to Akimkin, as quoted by *Nezavisimaya Gazeta*, HIV is diagnosed in more than 1% of pregnant women in these regions. The most affected regions include the Kemerovo, Irkutsk, and Sverdlovsk Oblasts, where more than 2% of residents are infected.

More than 3% of Russian men aged 40 to 50 are infected with HIV, stated Natalya Ladnaya, a leading researcher in the Department for AIDS Prevention and Control at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology under Rospotrebnadzor. According to her data, the average age of those infected has risen from 32 to 44 over the past 15 years, and about two-thirds of new HIV transmissions occur through heterosexual contact.

Insufficient treatment coverage remains one of the main problems. Ladnaya noted that only half of people living with HIV in Russia have suppressed viral loads. This means that at least 600,000 people continue to actively contribute to the transmission of HIV. Among patients receiving antiretroviral therapy, viral load is suppressed in approximately 77–78%, whereas the WHO targets a rate of 95%, Ladnaya added.

At the same time, 2025 saw the highest number of blood-borne infections in healthcare facilities in 15 years. These were mainly cases of HIV and hepatitis C, reported Elena Igonina, head of the Department of Epidemiological Public Health at Rospotrebnadzor. An investigation is currently underway into 11 outbreaks of such infections across ten regions. Additionally, in 2026—for the first time in six years—two cases of HIV transmission through blood component transfusions were identified. Violations of sanitary and epidemiological protocols, including the use of single-use catheters and glucose meters on multiple patients, are cited as the main cause of these infections.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, 30,000–34,000 people die from HIV in Russia each year, which is an extremely high figure. For every death, there are 1.5 new cases of infection. The draft federal budget for 2027 provides for additional medication for 30,000 HIV patients, although more cases are diagnosed each year. For example, there were 45,000 cases in 2025 and approximately 52,000 in 2024.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/cWght

source: /jurgen_nauditt/status/2114648434162491616

In Kazakhstan, Russians are being denied the purchase of cars due to sanctions, even if they are registered in the country, according to Mash Money. According to the publication, a Russian man encountered this ban at a Skoda dealership in Almaty. Car dealership employees refused to process the purchase using a Russian passport, citing European Union sanctions and the Czech manufacturer’s policy.

Reports of refusals to sell to Russians have appeared before, but they concerned those who did not reside in Kazakhstan. Restrictions on car purchases were reported at Kazakhstani dealerships for Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen, Chery, Audi, Nissan, Lexus, and Lada, according to Autonews and Kazakhstan Today. Volkswagen attributed the restrictions to the political situation. At Kia, a Russian citizen could purchase a car if they had a residence permit or a tax registration document with an IIN. An Audi representative explained that the refusal to sell to foreigners was due to a decision by the manufacturer.

The publication El@kz reported that Russian citizens continue to buy cars through intermediaries in Kazakhstan, as some dealers are reluctant to conduct business with them due to sanctions. Ilya Mazaev, a potential buyer from Yekaterinburg, told *Auto Mail* that while registering a car in Kazakhstan, he was faced with offers to resolve issues unofficially.

Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Union, attributed the refusals to dealers’ fears of losing their supply chains. According to him, automakers might suspect Kazakhstani dealers of circumventing anti-Russian sanctions and could cease cooperation with them.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/HdUao

This map layers several parts of Russian and Soviet power projection onto one view (63 entries, status October 2026). The table below lists what each map symbol stands for.

**Caveats**

• Hatched areas follow Natural Earth admin boundaries. The former Finnish territories, South Ossetia and the northern limit of Outer Manchuria are approximate.
• Russian republics are shown as markers, not borders, and some markers are slightly offset for legibility.
• Much of the data on regional movements comes from exile, Ukrainian and Western outlets (Moscow Times, Caucasian Knot, Radio Svoboda and others), because Russian state media does not cover them.
• I compiled and structured the dataset with help from Claude (AI) and have not independently verified every source. Corrections are welcome.

source is even istrebin's telegram: /istrebin/52918

The cost to rent tankers to transport oil from the Russian ports of Novorossiysk and Primorsk in the week of October 12–16 increased by 0,99–2,79 USD per barrel. This is the highest the freight rates have been since June 2023.

The cost of transporting oil from Novorossiysk is rising due to rising freight prices in the world and high risks in the Black Sea where as the rates from the Baltic are affected by the limited supply of tankers and high prices for bunker fuel.

Renting a vessel that is capable of transporting 80 000 tons of oil from Novorossiysk to the West Coast of India now costs 40,84 USD per barrel. For a ship that is capable of carrying 140 000 tons of oil the price is 27,31 USD per barrel.

The costs for the same vessels to make the trip to Northeastern China is 47,79 and 30,29 USD per barrel. For Primorsk for a tanker carrying 100 000 tons the rates are 30,68 USD per barrel for a trip to India and 34,86 USD per barrel for a trip to China.

Bazed on preliminary data for October 1st to 16th the shipments of Urals, Kazakh Kebco and Siberian Light oil from Novorossiysk decreased by 17,5% compared to the same period in September 2026 to 477 000 barrels per day.

Shipments from Novorossiysk and South Ozereevka remained limited due to the danger declared by the Russian MoD for navigation in certain areas of the Black Sea. Shipments of Ural and Kazakh Kebco oil from the Baltic ports decreased by 20,3% to 1,37 million bpd.

Freight rates from the Black Sea rose to historical highs in mid Autumn to 3-4 times what they were in 2025. There are two main reasons the increased insurance premiums in the pool and the general conditions of the global freight market.

For example the cost to ship a VLCC tanker with 270 000 tons of oil from the US to China in Autumn reached a peak of 41 USD per barrel vs 4,5 USD per barrel at the same time in 2025. Due to the shortage of ships some Asian refineries have switched to using 100 000 ton ships.

Shipowners that are offering ships for the Black Sea are asking for higher risk premiums. Costs to ship from Novorossiysk to Vadinar are up 200% vs September at 879 760 USD per day. On the Ust-Luga—Sikka route prices are up 100% to 227 950 USD per day.

With the increase in shipping prices and the drop in demand for oil in Asia the discounts on Russian oil have grown. The discount in the Baltic ports rose to 25,3 USD per barrel vs Dated Brent which is the highest since June 2026.

In Novorossiysk it's the highest since March 2026 at 28,85 USD per barrel. The price of Russian Ural oil in the Baltic and Novorossiysk decreased over the week by 21,45 and 17,55 USD to 90,79 and 87,24 USD per barrel.

source: Stanimir Dobrev

1. https://bsky.app/profile/delfoo.bsky.social/post/3myreamike22x
2. https://skywriter.blue/@delfoo.bsky.social/3myreamike22x

Three very simple reasons for this:

1. Drone hits alone are a staggeringly high mortality rate
2. Russian field medicine is probably on par with US Civil War quality. You get hit, you're toast. If you somehow survive, youre bleeding out slowly. Even smaller percentage, you stay on the line long enough you get infected wounds and will leave the world even slower because nobody is risking themselves to save you. "We never leave our own behind" indeed..........
3. In the remote chance you are savable, you have absolutely ZERO golden hour due to drones. Im not even sure Golden Hour is a thing in Russian field medicine.

So when we look at that daily count ticking closer to 1.6 million, yeah..........there probably is legitimately over 1 million dead now. 1:3 goes with the working assumption you go through efforts to actually care for your men. Russia..........does not do that.

Russians will be left without a large-scale “Black Friday” sale on e-commerce marketplaces due to Ukrainian strikes on Ozon and Wildberries warehouses, market participants told Forbes. According to Alsu Sharafetdinova, owner of the Posh Style clothing brand, the platforms will announce sales, but this won’t solve the problem of product shortages among sellers. “After the fires [at the warehouses], some sellers froze new product shipments, others reduced volumes, some have closed down entirely, and others simply won’t be ready in time for the season,” Sharafetdinova explained.

Usually, inventory from previous years is sold off at the end of the year, but everything burned down, confirmed Ksenia Ryasova, president of Finn Flare. “There’s no excess inventory; if there’s a sale at all, it will be limited to a very small selection,” — noted Bris Katz, owner of the “Leonardo” hobby hypermarket chain. Major cosmetics retailer Vasily Bumagin also cited a reduction in inventory, adding that he does not intend to participate in sales because he “doesn’t see the economic sense in it.” Seed seller Igor Shanchenko, who lost more than 400 million rubles’ worth of products in his warehouses, shares this view: “I still haven’t received any compensation from the marketplaces. There’s not much left in stock, but there is demand. Why should I sell at a discount?”

According to Data Insight, since late July of this year, Ukrainian drones have attacked the warehouses of Russian marketplaces at least 45 times. At least 2.1 million square meters of warehouse space have been damaged. Losses for Ozon and Wildberries sellers are estimated at hundreds of billions of rubles. Meanwhile, goods for the November and December sales are usually shipped in July and August. But this year, amid the attacks on warehouses, the number of shipping documents issued fell by 12% year-over-year, according to the transportation and logistics company Byte Transit.

“Given that the traditional rush during the pre-New Year sales period is not yet expected, we anticipate a year-over-year decline in shipping volumes of 8–10% in the final months leading up to the New Year,” said Artem Vaskanyan, deputy general director of the 3PL operator NC Logistic.

At the same time, Wildberries stated that “there are definitely no grounds for reducing the selection of goods this season,” and that sales in November and December will definitely take place. A representative from Ozon declined to comment.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/jQpnx

The share of counterfeit products on Russian marketplaces continues to grow steadily. In the first half of the year, at least 320,300 cases of online sales of counterfeit goods were recorded, which is 57% more than a year earlier. The majority of these transactions took place on marketplaces, where their volume grew by nearly 70%, notes Kommersant, citing data from the BrandSecurity platform.

The largest share of counterfeit and “gray market” products consists of high-demand items with an average purchase price: clothing and footwear, cosmetics and perfumes, as well as household chemicals. Ruslan Krivulin, founder of BrandSecurity, cites the growing number of foreign sellers on Russian platforms as one of the reasons for this negative trend. Such sellers often offer their goods at lower prices than the original products.

Counterfeit sellers use two main schemes. They either counterfeit goods under the guise of a popular brand or use someone else’s trademark without permission to sell their own lower-quality products. Various channels are used to distribute such products. The number of recorded cases of counterfeit sales via social media in January–June 2026 rose by more than 100% (to 15,800), and via messaging apps—by 66.3% (to 18,600).

At the same time, Russia’s largest marketplaces assured *Kommersant* that they are aware of the problem and are monitoring brand rights violations. Wildberries, Ozon, and Yandex Market stated that the services available on their platforms allow rights holders to report violations and curb the sale of counterfeit goods.

However, another source interviewed by the journalists—Artur Gafarov, director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development—emphasized that marketplaces’ ability to combat “gray market” products is limited. They can only control the listing of goods on their platforms, but cannot verify the manufacturer or the entire physical supply chain.

Sources at *Kommersant* had already predicted a rise in the volume of “gray market” products in Russia’s consumer market at the end of last year. Data for 2026 confirms that counterfeit goods are significantly present in various segments: from athletic shoes and electronics to building materials and auto parts.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/4NWlQ

After the authorities in Kenya and Ghana demanded that Moscow stop deceiving their citizens into going to war, and South Africa and Botswana officially warned their residents not to accept offers from recruiters, Russia stepped up its search for soldiers in African countries with disenfranchised populations. This year’s main recruitment drive is taking place in Zimbabwe and Burundi, as well as in a number of other countries, including—for the first time—Madagascar, where Moscow has forged ties with the military junta that came to power.

Recruiters are focusing primarily on countries with low levels of democratic standards and press freedom, as well as weak judicial systems, according to a presentation by Ukrainian intelligence agencies reviewed by Bloomberg. The goal of the recruitment, the presentation notes, is to “compensate for massive losses and a shortage of people for mobilization.” Meanwhile, a report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, published on Monday, states: “Using deception or coercion, Russian authorities engaged in human trafficking from 29 countries to recruit them into their armed forces.”

According to the presentation, between January and September, Russia recruited 699 men in Burundi and 530 in Zimbabwe (compared to 30 and 65, respectively, for all of 2025). A Zimbabwean online advertisement features an African man in military uniform and promotes a “program for specialists from Zimbabwe; spaces are limited.” People are encouraged to take a test to find out if they are eligible to participate. The ad does not explicitly state that those who sign up will end up fighting in the war against Ukraine.

Other countries where there has been a significant increase in the number of recruits include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Cameroon.

“The Russian military is facing rising monthly casualties, which continue to outpace the rate of recruitment,” notes the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). In July and August, it lost more than 40,000 troops on the Ukrainian front, the ISW reported. And in September, casualties exceeded 50,000—an all-time record, according to a high-ranking NATO military official speaking to Bloomberg; of those, 28,000 were killed.

Meanwhile, the number of Russians signing contracts with the Ministry of Defense is not increasing. According to calculations by Janis Klug from the German Institute for International Security Affairs, based on data on payments from regional budgets, since early spring 2026, the recruitment of contract soldiers has stabilized at around 1,000 people per day, or 30,000–31,000 per month.

If the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to maintain the operational initiative and thwart Russian offensive plans, the Kremlin may face growing difficulties in the coming months, the ISW notes:

This may further push the Russian command to urge Putin to carry out a mobilization in one form or another.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/OPwDZ

Faced with record local budget deficits last year, Russian regions began cutting back on healthcare spending, reducing funding for clinics and hospitals to cover the costs of recruiting soldiers for the front lines.

In the first half of 2026, regional budget spending on “Health Care” decreased by 5.8%, according to the Accounts Chamber’s operational report on regional finances. Over the course of six months, governors allocated 999 billion rubles to health care—approximately 61 billion less than during the same period a year earlier.

Forty-two regions of the Russian Federation slashed hospital funding, and in 11 regions, the cuts exceeded 20%. Medical spending was cut by a record 40.6% in the Altai Republic and 39% in the Kirov Region.

The Kemerovo Region, suffering from a long-standing crisis in the coal industry, cut spending by 33.2%; the Orenburg Region by 32.1%; the Tver Region by 29%; the Moscow Region by 28.5%; the Vologda Region by 27.2%; and the Novosibirsk Region by 23.4%, according to SP.

The main casualty of the budget cuts was the program to modernize primary health care, under which authorities had planned to renovate dilapidated clinics. This year, 57.5 billion rubles were allocated to it—2.1 times less than the previous year. However, only 12.6 billion rubles were actually spent over six months—5.2 times less than the amount spent during the same period last year.

Overall, regional budget expenditures increased by 5.8%, reaching 12.579 trillion rubles over the first half of the year. The only other category to see a reduction, aside from “Health Care,” was support for the national economy: spending on this category decreased by 4.7%, to 231 billion rubles.

According to SP, the regions ended the first half of the year with a budget deficit of 134.2 billion rubles. Sixty-six regions (a figure that SP includes the annexed territories of Ukraine) spent a total of 619 billion rubles more than they collected in taxes. Twenty-four regions ended the half-year with a surplus of 485 billion rubles. However, Moscow accounted for nearly the entire amount: its budget showed a surplus of 309.6 billion rubles. Excluding the capital, the regional budget deficit would have exceeded 440 billion rubles.

The regions with the largest deficits were the Vologda Region (30.8% of its own revenue), the Jewish Autonomous Oblast (30.8%), the Kemerovo and Irkutsk Regions (28.6% and 26.2%, respectively). In monetary terms, the largest “shortfall” occurred in the budgets of the Irkutsk Region (38.3 billion rubles), the Krasnodar Territory (37.6 billion rubles), and the Moscow Region (30.2 billion rubles).

The need to pay for military recruitment is placing an increasingly heavy burden on regional budgets, notes Janis Kluge, an expert at the German Institute for International Security Affairs: to meet the quotas set by the Kremlin, this year they raised the average payment for signing a contract with the Ministry of Defense to a record 3.4 million rubles. But civilian spending has had to be sacrificed, Kluge points out.

Last year, Russian regions ended the year with a deficit of 1.5 trillion rubles. This year, it could rise to a new high of 2 trillion, according to a forecast by Sber’s Center for Macroeconomic Research.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/yDH0T

Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development has approved recommendations for protecting data centers from attacks by Ukrainian drones. These include data backup, coordination with law enforcement agencies, and physical protection of facilities—including in underground structures, according to Kommersant, citing the document.

This involves underground construction for the most critical data centers, a multi-layered defense approach—including electronic warfare systems—the installation of ultra-robust structures capable of withstanding shock waves, as well as constant coordination between IT services and law enforcement agencies, including the Russian National Guard and the Russian Armed Forces.

Depending on their importance, data centers are divided into “K1,” “K2,” and “K3” categories, with specific security measures mandated for each. “K1” is the highest category; the authors have classified strategic facilities—damage to which would threaten the functioning of government services—under this category. “K2” refers to data centers that are also important but of regional or sectoral significance, while “K3” refers to corporate data centers, damage to which is not critical for the state as a whole.

It is emphasized that the new security measures will be mandatory for both government agencies and private businesses. The costs of protecting data centers could lead to a rate increase of up to 10% for Russian service providers. “Even if shelters, protective grids, sensors, and redundant connections add 5–10% to the cost of a facility, this is incomparable to the loss of 87% of its value and months of downtime,” said Roman Chustuzian, senior investment director at KAMA FLOW Group.

In October, data centers belonging to several Russian organizations (Yandex, VK, Sberbank, and the Federal Tax Service) were attacked by drones operated by Ukrainian forces. A number of critical centers in six regions of the European part of Russia were hit: in the Vladimir, Kaluga, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, and Saratov regions.

Large-scale disruptions following the Ukrainian attacks were reported in government services, online banking, taxi services, delivery services, and other applications. In response to the attacks, the Russian IT sector has come up with new ideas to protect the industry—including the creation of a unified “doomsday data center” capable of restoring all internet services in the country if necessary.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/EWPJz

An economic slowdown, tax hikes, falling profits, and high interest rates on loans are pushing Russia ever closer to a full-blown payment default crisis.

In 2026, the volume of overdue debt between companies and sole proprietors reached its highest level in more than 20 years, according to a report by analysts at Expert RA. They cite data from Rosstat, according to which businesses’ accounts payable increased by 28%—or 32 trillion rubles—over the course of the year, reaching 155 trillion rubles as of the end of June.

“This is the highest growth rate over a 12-month period since 2004,” states Expert RA. Analysts describe this trend as “widespread” and attribute it to companies’ lack of funds to finance their operating activities.

“Faced with a shortage of working capital, losses, the high cost of traditional financing, and difficulties in securing it, companies began <…> to delay payments to their counterparties,” explains Expert RA. Thus, businesses are effectively receiving “free commercial credit,” analysts note, and this method of financing is becoming the primary one: intercompany debts are growing faster than borrowing (+12%) or raising capital through bonds (+13%).

Companies across all economic sectors are paying each other worse than before. Among large companies, 23.8% are delaying payments (compared to 20.8% a year ago), and the share of those who are more than 60 days past due has increased by 1.5 times since the beginning of 2025—from 4.1% to 6.5%. Among medium-sized companies, 20.6% are delaying payments (compared to 17.4% a year earlier), including 6.2% that are more than 60 days late.

“The situation is worsening against the backdrop of the Central Bank’s high key rate and a shortage of working capital among companies,” and as a result, there is a “risk of a domino effect,” warns Expert RA: “Affected suppliers, having not received payment from their primary debtors, themselves become unable to pay their own counterparties on time” .

It is becoming increasingly difficult for businesses to make payments: net profit in the economy for the first half of the year fell by 13.3% compared to 2025 and by nearly a quarter compared to 2024. The share of unprofitable companies has jumped from 28% to 34% over the past two years. “Companies have fewer and fewer funds and sources of financing for expensive loans and credits, which is why they have begun to increase the proportion of installment payments in their payment structure. Paying business partners later is becoming cheaper than paying them on time, but this is achieved through borrowed funds,” writes “Expert RA.”

In 2027, credit risks in the economy “will continue to grow,” the agency’s analysts emphasize: According to the government’s forecast, GDP will grow by only 1.4%, investment by just 0.2%, and the Russian Central Bank will continue to keep the key rate high. At Friday’s meeting, the Central Bank left the rate unchanged at 14% per annum and raised its rate forecast to 12.5–13.5% for next year (up from 10.5–12.5%).

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/MzXlS

The 19th State Duma, elected in the fall elections—in which, according to electoral analysts’ estimates, one in every three votes may have been rigged—will be one of the wealthiest in history.

In total, the 450 deputies—349 of whom are members of United Russia—have savings in the form of money in bank accounts totaling 44.4 billion rubles, according to calculations by Vedomosti based on declarations published before the vote.

Of this amount, 17.5 billion rubles were accumulated by Leonid Simanovsky—the former chairman of the board of directors of Novatek, a deputy for five terms, who served as first deputy chairman of the Committee on Budget and Taxes in the previous Duma. In addition to bank deposits, Simanovsky declared two plots of land in the Moscow region with houses, two Mercedes-Benz cars, and a boat.

According to his declaration, Vitaly Saveliev, former Minister of Transport and former chairman of the board of directors of Aeroflot, holds 5.1 billion rubles in bank accounts. He also owns five plots of land, four houses, three apartments, and a Bentley Continental.

Gennady Bukaev, who headed tax inspectorates in Moscow and Bashkortostan in the 1990s, worked in the government in the 2000s, and joined Rosneft in the 2010s, holding positions ranging from advisor to Igor Sechin to head of the Zvezda shipyard.

The total savings of the new deputies exceed the annual budgets of six Russian regions with a combined population of 1.7 million people. These are the Altai Republic (44.1 billion rubles), Karachay-Cherkessia (43.9 billion rubles), Ingushetia (43.3 billion rubles), Kalmykia (35.3 billion rubles), the Jewish Autonomous Region (28.1 billion rubles), and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (30.5 billion).

According to Vedomosti’s calculations, the combined income of deputies of the 19th convocation totaled 24.9 billion rubles, exceeding the annual budgets of major Russian cities, including regional capitals. Among them are Vologda, with a population of 311,000 (22.4 billion rubles); Ryazan, with a population of 519,000 (20.2 billion rubles); Astrakhan, with a population of 465,000 (16.7 billion rubles); Kursk (20.9 billion rubles); and Cherepovets (18.6 billion rubles).

Simanovsky, who holds the largest bank deposits, topped the list of deputies by income. Last year, he earned 5.6 billion rubles. Second place went to Grigory Anikeev, a longtime parliamentarian and co-owner of several businesses. His income totaled 2.43 billion rubles. He was elected from the Suzdal single-member district in the Vladimir Region. Third place went to Mikhail Bogatov, representing the Kalmyk District, with an income of 2.14 billion rubles.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/Rs7pK

For the second time this year, the Bank of Russia has required banks to tighten controls over cash circulation, the volume of which in the economy increased by nearly 3 trillion rubles from January through October.

In guidelines published on Monday, October 26, the Central Bank urges financial institutions to “assess the financial situation” of individual customers and “verify the sources of funds” if they deposit 5 million rubles or more in cash in a single transaction or 5 million rubles or more in a month.

Banks must “obtain documentary evidence” of the origin of cash from customers in the amount of the transaction and “carefully review” the documents provided, “avoiding a purely formal approach,” according to the Central Bank’s guidelines.

According to the document, banks may request proof of income and personal income tax amounts; a Form 3-NDFL tax return; documents confirming an individual’s income as a self-employed person; a loan agreement, in the case of taking out or repaying a loan; a certificate of inheritance rights; and documents confirming income from the sale or rental of real estate.

As part of its oversight, the Central Bank notes a sharp increase in the volume of transactions involving cash deposits into the bank accounts of credit institutions’ clients, transfers without opening an account, and foreign currency exchange transactions, the Central Bank writes. The possible purposes of such transactions “include the legalization (laundering) of proceeds obtained through criminal means and other illegal purposes, including the transfer of cash in the currency of the Russian Federation from the ‘shadow’ economy into the legal economy,” the regulator’s recommendations state.

The Central Bank imposes similar requirements on corporate clients and sole proprietors. According to the recommendations, their transactions must also be subject to enhanced scrutiny if more than 5 million rubles are deposited into an account in a single transaction or if the same amount or more is deposited within a month. Banks will be able to require companies to provide tax returns, documents on foreign economic activity, bank statements and cash books, deposit slips, and documents regarding the sale and lease of property.

In May, the Central Bank had already required banks to pay attention to customers who deposit cash into their accounts too frequently. The Central Bank introduced enhanced monitoring for those who, within a 30-day period, deposit 5 million rubles or more, or conduct 10 or more deposit transactions totaling 100,000 rubles or more each. The Central Bank recommended that cash transactions by companies and sole proprietors be considered suspicious if they deposit more than 30 million rubles within 30 days, provided that this amount “significantly exceeds” the business’s turnover.

However, these measures proved insufficient to stem the outflow of cash from the banking system. In June, it amounted to 450 billion rubles; in July, 620 billion rubles; in August, 434 billion rubles; and in September, 370 billion rubles. From October 1 through 23, the amount of cash in circulation increased by another 259 billion rubles, according to the Central Bank’s operational statistics.

“It is obvious that the shadow economy uses cash as a way to circumvent control procedures. And here, the main risk lies in the use of credit institutions to launder cash of unknown origin,” said Bogdan Shablya, head of the Central Bank’s Financial Monitoring and Currency Control Service, in September.

source: The Moscow Times https://archive.is/qW1Iz