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. Also: Central Asia Digest · Caucasus wire.
The Bank of Russia kept its key rate unchanged, while export-driven currency supply, Black Sea shipping risks and reinsurance terms for sabotage losses shaped the day's economic agenda.
The Bank of Russia's board of directors kept the key rate at 14%. The decision matched expectations: 25 of 26 economists polled by Vedomosti forecast a hold. Governor Elvira Nabiullina said the board considered only a hold in substance, although a rate increase was also on the table. The regulator cited inflation expectations of 13.2% in October (per inFOM), remaining demand and supply risks, and uncertainty over fiscal policy. The pause follows an easing cycle of 7 percentage points over one and a half years, which stopped at the 11 September meeting.
Source: Vedomosti, 26 Oct 2026
Sales of foreign currency by the largest exporters, which the central bank tracks separately, fell by $0.3 billion from August to $2.1 billion in September, the lowest since 2022. Analysts at Gazprombank say part of the revenue may be converted through intermediaries and not captured by the indicator. They expect export receipts and the quarterly additional-income tax to support currency supply in October. Tax payments could lift budget revenue to RUB 0.8-1 trillion, against RUB 0.5 trillion in September, which raises exporters' demand for rubles.
Source: Kommersant, 26 Oct 2026
According to the Financial Times, as reported by Forbes Russia, war-risk insurance in the Black Sea can reach 15% of a vessel's hull value, almost twice the Persian Gulf rate. Shipowners are deploying older vessels with cheaper cover, some up to 50 years old, which face a high risk of detention in European ports. Kommersant, citing market participants, estimated that the idle terminals of the Azov-Black Sea basin cost the budget and businesses RUB 200 billion per month. Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev proposed state support for the region's seaports.
Source: Forbes Russia, 25 Oct 2026
Kommersant, as reported by Forbes Russia, writes that the Russian National Reinsurance Company may introduce a RUB 200 billion loss threshold on terrorism and sabotage risks. If an insurer's losses from such events after 1 October 2026 exceed it, the tariff would rise from 1% to 50% of the maximum aggregate limit and the reinsurer's liability limits would fall fivefold. Insurers that decline the terms risk unilateral termination of their treaties. Financial expert Andrey Barkhota puts the company's total liability for these risks at RUB 18-25 trillion.
Source: Forbes Russia, 26 Oct 2026
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