Economics

Putin Wants to Start Spending Again. Here’s How He’ll Do It.

  • Annual budget spending to increase to $350 billion by 2022
  • Non-energy revenue expected to cover a big share of outlays
Vladimir PutinPhotographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s overhauled cabinet is set to open the way for a government spending spree after five years of austerity.

But the Kremlin isn’t throwing years of budget discipline to the wind. The increase in federal budget spending to 22.4 trillion rubles ($350 billion) by 2022 will be funded with a combination of higher state-company dividends and money from the government’s rainy-day fund, according to the Finance Ministry.