[Skybird]

[Tagesspiegel] Despite Western sanctions, Russia is relying on high oil and gas revenues in its budget planning for 2025. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a government meeting in Moscow that state revenues should increase by 12 percent to 40.3 trillion roubles (around 390 billion euros).

The energy sector's share of revenue would increase to almost three quarters. The expenditure side is expected to grow less strongly to 41.4 trillion roubles (around 400 billion euros), meaning that a deficit of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product is to be expected.

According to media reports, the future budget is also geared towards the war of aggression against Ukraine and large-scale arms production. The financial news agency Bloomberg reported from Moscow that 13.2 trillion roubles are planned to be spent on the military. A total of 40 percent of all spending is earmarked for defense and internal security - more than spending on education, health, social affairs and the economy combined. Bloomberg referred to drafts of the budget for the next three years, which the agency was able to view.
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It is often said that the Russian economy must collapse after the war because it currently is still in war mode. But one can also derive a much more unwelcome interpretation from this. Namely, that Russia will maintain the war economy beyond the end of the current war. With all the consequences that this will have for Russia's military resurgence - and the Europeans still have no answer to this.