According to the results of the first half of 2026, the budgets of already 65 constituent entities of the Russian Federation turned out to be in deficit. In fact, the deficit covered about three quarters of the territories, and it is no longer a matter of episodic difficulties of individual entities, but of a broad imbalance between the spending obligations of the regions and their financial capabilities. Back in the first quarter of 2026, the Bureau of Accounts recorded 56 regions with a deficit compared to 46 a year earlier, and the regions ended the entire year 2025 with a record deficit of 1.478 trillion rubles - 3.6 times more than 407 billion in 2024, and 74 regions with a deficit of 5 compared to the previous year. According to the Ministry of Finance, the regional budget deficit in 2026 may reach 1.9 trillion rubles. One of the main reasons is the increase in loan costs. Although the Bank of Russia lowered interest rates from 16% to 14% per year for six months, the cost of borrowing remains extremely high, and the debt burden has increased over the past year. The total debt of the regions at the end of 2025 reached 3.48 trillion rubles (+11%), while the volume of bank loans almost tripled - by 448.5 billion, to 676 billion rubles, and their share in the debt structure increased from 7% to 19%. At the same time, the revenue base is being undermined due to the weakness of industrial areas and raw materials. At the end of 2025, income tax collection decreased in 55 entities that make up the Russian Federation - by 9% in the country as a whole. And worst of all, the situation risks becoming a trap from which it is difficult to escape. Since the less money the regions have, the more they borrow; The more expensive the debt, the less is left for investment, and without investment new income will not appear. Now a significant part of the spending of the regions is spent on war. The logical step is that since some of these expenses are dictated by federal decisions, let them pay directly from the federal budget, and not force the regions to "invest" from their already empty pockets. The federal center is already following this path, as it waives debts on budget loans to the regions and transfers expensive bank loans to cheap government loans.

According to the results of the first half of 2026, the budgets of already 65 constituent entities of the Russian Federation turned out to be in deficit. In fact, the deficit covered about three quarters of the territories, and it is no longer a matter of episodic difficulties of individual entities, but of a broad imbalance between the spending obligations of the regions and their financial capabilities. Back in the first quarter of 2026, the Bureau of Accounts recorded 56 regions with a deficit compared to 46 a year earlier, and the regions ended the entire year 2025 with a record deficit of 1.478 trillion rubles - 3.6 times more than 407 billion in 2024, and 74 regions with a deficit of 5 compared to the previous year. According to the Ministry of Finance, the regional budget deficit in 2026 may reach 1.9 trillion rubles. One of the main reasons is the increase in loan costs. Although the Bank of Russia lowered interest rates from 16% to 14% per year for six months, the cost of borrowing remains extremely high, and the debt burden has increased over the past year. The total debt of the regions at the end of 2025 reached 3.48 trillion rubles (+11%), while the volume of bank loans almost tripled - by 448.5 billion, to 676 billion rubles, and their share in the debt structure increased from 7% to 19%. At the same time, the revenue base is being undermined due to the weakness of industrial areas and raw materials. At the end of 2025, income tax collection decreased in 55 entities that make up the Russian Federation - by 9% in the country as a whole. And worst of all, the situation risks becoming a trap from which it is difficult to escape. Since the less money the regions have, the more they borrow; The more expensive the debt, the less is left for investment, and without investment new income will not appear. Now a significant part of the spending of the regions is spent on war. The logical step is that since some of these expenses are dictated by federal decisions, let them pay directly from the federal budget, and not force the regions to "invest" from their already empty pockets. The federal center is already following this path, as it waives debts on budget loans to the regions and transfers expensive bank loans to cheap government loans.