What Kommersant, RBC, Vedomosti, Interfax and Forbes Russia report — selected and summarized in English every morning, for readers who don't read Russian. Analysis-grade sourcing, no wire rehash. Data context in the Russia Terminal. Regional wires: Central Asia · Caucasus.
The finance ministry steps up currency buying as the budget rule turns more generous, industry shows a fragile rebound against rising costs, the fuel squeeze persists in the regions, and two new laws redraw the rules for foreign investors and for crypto.
The Ministry of Finance will spend 136.2bn rubles (about $1.7bn) on foreign currency and gold between 7 August and 4 September, raising the daily volume under the budget rule to 6.5bn rubles from 5.4bn in the previous period, roughly a 1.2-fold increase. The ministry expects 114.2bn rubles of additional oil and gas revenue in August and is adding 21.9bn rubles because July receipts overshot its forecast. Daily volumes remain below the 9.9bn rubles bought between 5 June and 6 July.
The direction matters more than the size. For the second half of 2026 the Bank of Russia cut its own daily currency sales from the National Wealth Fund almost eightfold to 0.58bn rubles a day, so net official flows now lean towards buying. Analysts cited by Vedomosti expect the combination to weaken the ruble moderately, past 80 to the dollar.
Source: Vedomosti, 5 Aug 2026
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose to 50.7 in July from 50.3 in June and 48.8 in May, the highest reading since January 2025 and a second consecutive month above the 50 line. Growth rests entirely on domestic orders: export orders fell at their fastest rate since October 2022. Input cost inflation reached its highest level since January 2026 on fuel shortages, logistics problems and supplier price increases, and delivery times lengthened the most since February 2025.
Kommersant notes that longer delivery times mechanically raise the composite PMI, so a negative supply shock can register statistically as an improvement. Surveys by the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences are more cautious: the demand outlook recovered from minus 22 points in March to minus 13, while output plans improved by 7 points to a zero balance, with as many firms expecting lower production as higher. Stocks of finished goods fell for a seventh straight month.
Source: Kommersant, 4 Aug 2026
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said regions with a high share of independent filling stations still face fuel supply problems and that vertically integrated oil companies will supply them gradually through regional operators. The government named Tver, Tambov, Novosibirsk and Nizhny Novgorod regions, the republics of Buryatia, Khakassia, Sakha (Yakutia) and Tyva, and Altai Krai as specific concerns. Volumes required by farmers for August have been allocated to the oil companies.
The backdrop is a seasonal demand peak coinciding with a run of unplanned refinery repairs. Russia began importing petroleum products in July, and Rosstat data show retail gasoline price growth accelerating. The full gasoline export ban now runs to 31 January 2027; the diesel ban extends to 1 September for producers and to 31 January 2027 for non-producers, with jet fuel exports blocked until 30 November. Foreign traders and logistics operators should assume Russian product stays off export markets through the winter.
Source: Interfax, 5 Aug 2026
Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing foreign investors who left Russia after 22 February 2022 to be deprived of options to buy back shares and stakes they sold. Cases go to the Moscow Region Arbitration Court and can be brought by the relevant ministry, with approval from the government commission on foreign investment, or by the current owner of the asset. Proceedings may start even if the investor has not attempted to exercise the option.
Two grounds apply. The first covers conduct, including public support for "unfriendly" actions against Russia or public statements about ceasing operations in the market. The second is financial: a buyback price deviating 25% or more from market value, or additional investment by the Russian buyer without which the business would have been curtailed. Investors may claim compensation within one year of the ruling, at an amount set by the court. The law took effect on publication, after the State Duma passed it on 21 July and the Federation Council approved it on 24 July.
Source: Forbes.ru, 4 Aug 2026
Putin signed the law "On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights", which restricts crypto operations to licensed participants: trading organisers, brokers, exchange services and trust managers, with digital depositories handling custody. Using crypto to pay for domestic goods and services remains banned; exceptions cover foreign trade contracts, payments to miners, network fees and transactions in securities, other cryptocurrencies and digital rights. Most provisions take effect on 1 September, while the requirement to trade through licensed intermediaries applies from 1 July 2027.
Exchange operators must be Russian companies with own funds of at least 15mn rubles (about $185,000) entered in a Bank of Russia register, though they may work without registration until 1 July 2027. Public exchange listing requires an average two-year market capitalisation above 5 trillion rubles (roughly $62bn) and average daily turnover above 1 trillion rubles; the central bank can admit other coins for up to six months, and any cryptocurrency may be offered to qualified investors. Central bank first deputy chairman Vladimir Chistyukhin said in early July that operations could begin in November, and the Moscow Exchange aims to launch trading by the end of 2026.
Source: Forbes.ru, 4 Aug 2026