By Rhod Mackenzie
The public debt of the Russian Federation in ruble terms increased by 1.9 trillion rubles in 2022, to 22.82 trillion rubles. Of these, 18.78 trillion rubles falls on domestic debt (+13.9% per year) and 4.04 trillion rubles on external debt (-8.9% per year). This is stated in the conclusion of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation on the execution of the federal budget for 2022.
“In 2022, the public debt of the Russian Federation increased by 1,897.7 billion rubles, or 9.1%, and in ruble terms amounted to 22,819.5 billion rubles (14.9% of GDP), including the public domestic debt of the Russian Federation increased by 2,294.5 billion rubles, or 13.9%, and amounted to 18,781.0 billion rubles. The state external debt of the Russian Federation in ruble terms decreased by 396.9 billion rubles, or 8.9%, and amounted to 4,038.6 billion rubles,” the Accounts Chamber reported.
The ratio of total government debt to GDP for 2022 decreased by 0.6%, to 14.9%. At the same time, the cost of servicing it increased to 1.33 trillion rubles (from 1.08 trillion rubles in 2021).
The Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, speaking at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, said that the total amount of debt "has remained at a minimum level." He called this a great advantage, because even with an increase in borrowing, it was possible to ensure stability in the financial markets.
This article originally appeared in Russian at expert.ru