Sorry, goodbye: debts were written off to three Russian regions
The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation has concluded agreements with the first three regions on debt cancellation on budget loans for 15.6 billion rubles, according to the agency's website. We are talking about the Altai and Stavropol territories, as well as the Republic of Adygea. Izvestia investigated which other regions need support and which types of assistance are most effective.
Grants and write-offs
To date, there has been a steady increase in tax and non-tax revenues of the regions, the press service of the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia. In 2021 +26% by 2020, in 2024 +15% by 2023, while the volume of transfers to regional budgets has remained stable since 2020 (at the level of 3.9-3.7 billion rubles in 2020-2024). Among the measures of financial support for the regions, it is possible to single out the distribution of inter—budget transfers, including subsidies for equalization and cancellation of debt on budget loans.
The instrument for writing off 2/3 of the debt on budget loans is not directly related to the subsidization of the regions, the director of the Research Center for Spatial Analysis and Regional Diagnostics of the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEI) explained to Izvestia Dmitry Zemlyansky Presidential Academy.
"Equalization grants are distributed in accordance with the level of estimated budget provision and are an inter—budget transfer (direct provision of funds from the federal budget to the regional budget)," the expert explained. — Debt cancellation is a fundamentally different tool. The subjects of the federation undertake to spend funds from their own budget revenues on the implementation of certain projects (the list is agreed upon by the federal government).
The requirements for the projects are also determined by the government, the expert added. For regions with a higher level of estimated budget provision, there must be new investment or infrastructure projects, tax expenditures (tax incentives). Regions with lower estimated budget resources can spend funds on new projects or simply on the implementation of national projects.
— In addition, it is important that at least half of the funds be allocated to projects in the housing and communal services sector, — Dmitry Zemlyansky said. After the funds are spent, the debt will be written off to the regions for a similar amount. We are talking specifically about writing off debts on previously issued budget loans, and about certain limits for each subject of the Russian Federation.
Territories with a limited tax base, high social burden or the need to implement infrastructure projects are particularly in need of federal state support, Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia. Debt cancellation on budget loans is a timely measure that allows regions to free up resources for development.
— However, sustainable sources of income are more important. The most effective forms of support may be incentive transfers, infrastructure budget loans, and regional participation in public-private partnership (PPP) programs. This creates conditions for attracting private investment and increasing tax revenues.
The economy of the regions
More than two thirds of the subjects of the Federation annually form budgets with a significant share of transfers, and the total regional debt exceeds three trillion rubles, Artem Savostitsky, Deputy head of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Economics, clarified in an interview with Izvestia. For some subjects — primarily the republics of the North Caucasus, the regions of the Far North and the Far East — federal support provides more than half of the revenue base, which indicates a chronic insufficiency of their own revenues.
"In addition to Adygea, Altai and Stavropol territories, Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Tuva and Kalmykia, as well as the Chukotka and Nenets Autonomous Okrugs are in an acute situation, in the Far East these are the Kamchatka Territory and the Magadan Region," he said. — In the central part of Russia, the Ivanovo, Tambov regions and Mordovia are vulnerable, where transfers provide more than 25% of income. The common feature of these regions is their limited tax potential, weak investment base, and high proportion of social obligations.
The problems are not new, but they have worsened recently due to the high key interest rate and the resulting difficulties in attracting new loans and servicing them, Rafael Abdulov, associate professor of Economics at NUST MISIS, told Izvestia. It is impossible not to attract loans, as it is necessary to finance government programs. Regions that are suffering from sanctions need support now, such as the Kemerovo Region, which is facing a drop in coal exports.
However, in general, the situation with regional budgets in 2025 is stable, Dmitry Zemlyansky believes. Overall, it is even better than the expectations that were at the end of 2024. After all, last year, in the wake of a shortage of personnel and a salary race, personal income tax receipts grew rapidly, but at the same time, more than half of the subjects experienced a drawdown in corporate income tax receipts.
— In 2025, the growth of personal income tax receipts continues, although it has slowed down. And the dynamics of income tax receipts has leveled off. Therefore, for regions with a better budget situation, the dynamics is stable due to the stability of their own income receipts. For regions that are more dependent on federal aid (there are about 20 of them), the logic of allocating funds from the federal budget becomes significant," he noted.
According to him, the volume of direct state support for regional development in the form of inter-budget transfers is now decreasing. Therefore, additional instruments are becoming particularly important, including measures to regulate the debt burden, such as debt cancellation on budget loans, treasury infrastructure loans, investment budget loans, infrastructure bonds, etc. For regions with a lower level of budget provision, such tools become the basis for the formation of "development budgets".
— Most regions of the Russian Federation need additional financial support. This does not mean that all regions are subsidized. But even territories with a favorable budget situation and high tax and non—tax revenues need funds for long-term financing of large projects," he explained.
Debt instruments, in his opinion, turn out to be the most effective for more prosperous territories. This is especially important in conditions of high key interest rates, when it is difficult and impractical for even the most developed entities to attract large amounts of commercial loans. Regions with low levels of tax and non-tax revenues and worse conditions are more focused on inter-budget transfers.
System support
Support for the regions should be multicomponent, Sergey Katyrin believes. Stimulating local business activity remains an important area, especially through the development of small and medium-sized businesses. In his opinion, such measures as the concessional lending program, umbrella guarantees, leasing, guarantees from regional guaranteeing organizations and microloans have proved effective here.
— In 2025, the focus will shift to supporting efficient companies in priority sectors such as industry, IT, hospitality and catering. In addition, programs for the "cultivation" of suppliers, offset contracts, the construction of technology parks, and the development of export directions are being implemented. My Business centers are actively operating — today there are 400 of them across the country," he noted.
According to him, comprehensive and flexible support makes it possible to talk not only about leveling regional imbalances, but also about the long-term development of the regions.
Izvestia also sent a request to the Ministry of Energy, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
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