Russia Spares Defense Spending as Most 2015 Outlays Cut 10%

Russia will raise budget spending on social support and agriculture and exempt defense outlays from reductions as part of a 2.3 trillion ($35 billion) stimulus program that will see most other expenditures cut by 10 percent in 2015.

Spending will decline by at least 5 percent annually in real terms for three years, with authorities seeking a balanced budget by 2017 “based on the most likely price level for the main export goods,” according to the plan dated Jan. 27 and published on the government’s website Wednesday. The ministries of finance and economy were instructed to prepare a proposal by the end of this month on creating a bad bank that will be used to acquire “problem” assets.