Russian billionaires "voluntarily" donate hundreds of billions of rubles, still struggling to solve budget deficit woes

Russian state budget documents show that Russia's richest people "voluntarily" donated a huge amount of money after meeting President Vladimir Putin in March this year, but Russia's budget deficit in 2026 remains high.

"Reuters" reported that the closed-door meeting attended by Putin was attended by many Russian business tycoons, most of whom have been sanctioned by Western countries. The Kremlin said an unnamed entrepreneur at the meeting suggested that because many Russian billionaires made fortunes in the 1990s from their ties to the state, they now have a responsibility to contribute generously to state coffers.

The Kremlin stressed that one of the participants offered to donate "a very large amount of money" after the meeting, and Putin was happy to see it happen.

The Kremlin did not release the full list of attendees. Putin said in September this year that voluntary donations from wealthy people amounted to "hundreds of billions" of rubles.

"Reuters" pointed out that the donation income was marked as a "voluntary donation" in the budget document, and the amount even exceeded the corporate windfall tax.

Russia's budget deficit this year is estimated to reach 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to approximately 7.3 trillion rubles (approximately NT$2.7 trillion). Without this "voluntary contribution" which has so far amounted to 471 billion rubles (approximately NT$176 billion), the deficit may rise to 3.4% of GDP.