Russian government had a videoconference on the execution of the federal budget in 2019, government website reports.
According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, in 2019 “The GDP growth rate was 1.3%, while the inflation rate was 3%, which is below the projected rate of 4%. By following a budget policy in keeping with the budget guidelines, we were able to avoid having to cut spending due to declining oil and gas revenue. On the contrary, higher non-oil and gas revenue enabled us to increase spending. Last year, we had a budget surplus equal to RUR 2 tln ($27 bln), which enabled us to channel more funds into the National Wealth Fund, and in 2020 we are using these funds to offset the decline in oil and gas revenue. As of 1 May 2020, the National Wealth Fund held RUR 12.4 tln ($168 bln), or almost 11% of GDP. By following this budget policy, we have been able to build a safety margin for this year and use these funds to offset the decline in revenue we are currently witnessing.”