Consolidated Budgets of Russian Regions in the Context of the Crisis Provoked by the Global Pandemic

Abstract

In the first half of 2020, with a marked reduction in tax revenues, there was an increase in the total amount of revenues of the consolidated budgets of the subjects of the RF, which in most cases did not compensate for the rate of inflation. The growth of the total amount of revenue was provided by the outstripping growth of all types of Federal transfers to the regional budgets. The situation in different regions of the country varied significantly, and the most serious losses were incurred by the most economically developed regions. Moscow bear the burden of a significant part of the total revenue loss. The growth of expenditures of the consolidated budgets of the Russian regions was significantly faster than the growth of their revenues. Health and social policy funding has increased most significantly, supported in part by Federal transfers. With the total deficit of the consolidated budgets of the Russian regions, about half of the regions had a positive budget balance (partly of a technical nature) at the end of the half-year. At the same time, the growth rate of public debt is not yet critical.