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Economic problems have featured heavily in Russian newspapers. (Image: Getty)
Russian newspapers on Monday (May 5) focused on the country's mounting economic problems. “Russians are braced for an unprecedented rise in utility bills”, reported Nezavisimaya Gazeta. A government plan would mean that by July 2028, "the average Russian family will be paying 40.4% more for their utilities than now," wrote another.
According to Moskovsky Komsomolets, from July 1 electricity tariffs wil rise by 12.6%, then 9.3% a year later, which "will affect not only how much people will pay to keep the lights on, but the prices of almost all goods and services". What's more, the Saudi Arabian-led Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) alliance announced on Saturday (May 3) that it would raise its production quota, triggering a 411,000 b/d increase for June. According to Nezavisimaya Gazeta, "Saudi Arabia is ready to reduce oil prices to $50," which "threatens Russia with budget cuts," because the Russian budget is heavily reliant on energy exports, the BBC explained in its "Reading Russia" series run by Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg.
Oil price forecasts have been downgraded to their lowest figure since Covid-19. (Image: Getty)
According to the Izvestia newspaper, "The Finance Ministry tripled its 2025 budget deficit forecast to 3.8 trillion roubles, or 1.7% of GDP".
This is due to global trade wars oil price forecasts [having] been downgraded considerably from $69.7 a barrel to $56. This is the lowest figure since Covid-19. The rouble's predicted value has also been corrected from 96.5 to 94.3 roubles to the dollar.
"Asa result the |Finance Ministry has revised down significantly this year's planned oil revenue from almost 11 trillion roubles to 8.3 trillion," the newspaper added.
Another paper, Kommersant, has written about Russia's economic growth slowing, revealing that in the first quarter of 2025 it has continued to slow along with inflation.
"Prospects for the rest of the year remain hazy," it concluded.
The Foreign Intelligence Service has accused Moscow of 'manipulating' statistics. (Image: Getty)
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These are not the only issues Russia is facing. Government plans showed a proposed personal income tax increase of 180% and a corporate income tax increase of 110%. VAT is also set to shoot up by 17%, putting many small and medium-sized businesses at the risk of bankruptcy.
"Up to 30% of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia are already on the verge of bankruptcy. By the end of this year, this figure is expected to increase to 50%," the Russian Intelligence Agency said.
The Foreign Intelligence Service, however, has accused Moscow of "manipulating" statistics to hide just how poorly the economy is doing, particularly in the case of inflation. This came after Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said: "the priorities of the Russian budget remain unchanged" and "all national development goals will be met regardless of external conditions and factors".
"Russia is burning through its future to sustain war. And of course, the people are footing the bill," claimed Kyrylo Shevchenko, a former Head of the National Bank of Ukraine, on X.
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