Russia's international reserves fell by more than $60 billion over the course of the month
According to the monthly report of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the country’s international reserves stood at $748,984 million at the start of April. At the start of March, this figure stood at $809,308 million, whilst in February 2026 it reached $833,572 million, which was the highest level in recent years. This is reported by The Public, citing Deutsche Welle.
Russia’s international reserves include the financial assets of the Central Bank and the government, including foreign currency, monetary gold, a reserve position in the International Monetary Fund and special drawing rights.
Some of the Russian Federation’s assets remain frozen in Western countries due to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to Central Bank data, the largest decline in March was in monetary gold reserves, which include gold bars and coins on the state’s balance sheet. This coincides with reports of gold sales, which began in January 2026.
According to Russian media reports, the sale of gold took place against a backdrop of rising prices on global markets. At the same time, restrictions were imposed on Russian citizens exporting gold from the country.
At the end of February, there was a sharp rise in the price of gold, after which prices began to fall in early March. As of 1 March, a troy ounce of gold was valued at $5,356, and subsequently its price fell to $4,721.
Meanwhile, the draft budget of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2028, adopted in November 2025, provides for expenditure exceeding revenue. The inflation rate is forecast at around 4 per cent.
The largest share of expenditure in the 2026–2028 budget is accounted for by spending on the military and law enforcement sectors. This is estimated at 16.84 trillion roubles, which corresponds to approximately 38–40 per cent of the total budget.
Social spending for this period is expected to amount to 10.8 trillion roubles, or 24.5 per cent of the budget.
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