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.
Fiscal slippage set the tone: the seven-month budget deficit reached 2.8% of GDP, while the central bank cleared Bitcoin for retail trading and the first-half trade surplus rose 20%.
Russia's federal budget deficit widened to 6.5 trillion rubles (ca. $79bn) in January–July, or 2.8% of GDP, up from 2.5% at mid-year, the Finance Ministry reported. Revenues rose 8.8% year-over-year to 22.1 trillion rubles, carried by non-oil receipts up 18.3% on the higher VAT rate, while oil and gas revenues of 4.6 trillion rubles still trail 2025 by 16.8%. The gap is already 1.7 times the full-year target of 1.6% of GDP, pointing to heavier borrowing or a budget revision in the autumn.
Source: Kommersant, 11 Aug 2026
The Bank of Russia added Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether USDT to the list of cryptocurrencies approved for public exchange trading. Non-qualified retail investors may buy them within an annual limit of 300,000 rubles (ca. $3,600) per intermediary after passing a risk test; qualified investors face no limits. The draft implements the digital-currency law signed on 4 August, which takes effect on 1 September 2026, with mandatory licensed intermediaries from July 2027.
Source: Interfax, 11 Aug 2026
Russia's foreign trade surplus reached $65.4 billion in January–June, 20% more than a year earlier, according to Bank of Russia data. In June alone the surplus rose 50% year-over-year to $12.46 billion, with exports up $10.63 billion to $43.25 billion and imports up $6.35 billion to $30.79 billion. The central bank projects a full-year surplus of $119 billion on exports of $458 billion — a hard-currency cushion that partly offsets the fiscal strain.
Source: Kommersant, 11 Aug 2026
Agricultural consultancy IKAR cut its forecast for Russia's 2026 wheat harvest by 0.5 million tons to 90 million tons and lowered export potential for the 2026/27 season to 44.5 million tons, citing reduced sown area. The total grain forecast now stands at 138.5 million tons, with export potential of 60 million tons. Rosstat data show wheat plantings shrank to 25.5 million hectares from 26.9 million — a supply signal for global grain buyers from the world's largest wheat exporter.
Source: Interfax, 11 Aug 2026
The government extended the rapeseed export duty by two years, to 31 August 2028, at an unchanged rate of 30% with a minimum of €165 per ton. The duty has applied since September 2024, when it replaced an outright export ban. The extension keeps feedstock at home for domestic crushers and signals that oilseed export controls will outlast the current season.
Source: Kommersant, 12 Aug 2026