Catastrophic news regarding gas and oil. Drama in the Kremlin

• Russia earned 592 billion rubles from oil and gas sales in September, and over the past nine months, revenues have fallen by more than 20 percent year-on-year.
• Revenues from raw material exports account for about a quarter of the Russian budget and are a key source of financing for the war in Ukraine.
• Despite avoiding a recession in 2023-2024, the Russian economy is slowing down significantly, and the budget deficit is growing despite tax increases.

Russia earned 592 billion rubles ($7.11 billion) from oil and gas sales in September, and in the first nine months, revenues will fall by 20.5 percent, to 6.62 trillion rubles. Month-on-month, however, oil and gas revenues were expected to rise by 17 percent, partly due to lower government subsidies for refineries.

Revenues from oil and gas exports account for about a quarter of the Russian budget and are the main source of financing for the war in Ukraine, Reuters notes.

Although Russia managed to avoid recession in 2023-2024, the economy is currently slowing down significantly, and the budget deficit is systematically widening. "This year, income and corporate taxes were raised, but in May the government still tripled the deficit forecast to 1.7% of GDP. Official growth forecasts have been lowered, and some bankers and officials are warning of stagnation or recession," we read.

In 2023, Russia's revenues from oil and gas sales amounted to 11.13 trillion rubles. Initially, the Kremlin projected that they would reach 10.94 trillion rubles (about 5% of GDP) in 2025, but the forecast was reduced to 8.32 trillion rubles.

In September, a change in the budget structure was also announced, which from next year is intended to protect state finances against oil price fluctuations and the effects of Western sanctions.