‘Voluntary donations’ by Russian businesses to state budget hit a record sum since start of 2026

Russian businesses made 383.69 billion rubles in non-repayable contributions to the federal budget during the first eight months of 2026 — almost one and a half times the total for all of last year.

The Russian business daily Vedomosti reported the figures after reviewing data from the government’s Electronic Budget information system, calling them the highest contributions recorded since this line item was added to the Tax Code.

In previous years, most of the money under this line item — which appeared in the Tax Code only in 2022 — came from the “exit tax” paid by departing foreign businesses. In 2026, though, the biggest source became “voluntary donations” from major Russian businessmen.

The idea of “voluntary donations” first surfaced in March, during a private meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s leading businessmen. The Kremlin insisted the idea had come from the businessmen themselves, but sources, including the independent Russian media outlet The Bell, reported that Putin himself had proposed the businessmen fund the war in Ukraine.

Vedomosti, citing data published on the Finance Ministry’s website, wrote that most of the money came in after March: “voluntary donations” to the federal budget totaled 15.6 billion rubles from January through March, then jumped tenfold in April to 159.7 billion rubles, and rose another 45.5% in May to 232.3 billion rubles.

Russia’s budget deficit, driven by the ongoing war in Ukraine, reached 6.455 trillion rubles — 2.8% of GDP — between January and July 2026, exceeding the government’s planned targets.