Putin publicly argues with his finance minister and puts forward an absurd theory of falling revenues

Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly argued with Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. The latter stated that Russia's revenues from gas and oil sales are falling due to large discounts (granted to those countries that have not yet refused to buy Russian energy resources).

In response, according to the Independent, Putin put forward an absurd theory: that revenues have fallen because of voluntary production cuts. Putin said the situation was "absolutely stable" and added that the decline in revenues was due to a "voluntary reduction" in oil production announced in consultation with OPEC+ partners.

"All of our actions, including those related to the voluntary production cuts, are related to the need to maintain a certain price environment on world markets in contact with our OPEC+ partners," Putin said.

In previous years, the Kremlin had a budget surplus (i.e., the aggressor earned more than it spent). Now, in the first four months of 2023, the deficit amounted to $44 billion, which is 17% more than the planned deficit for the entire year. There are a number of reasons for this:

• revenues from gas and oil sales fell by 52.3% over the year;
• expenses in January-April have already reached 39% of the total.

As OBOZREVATEL previously wrote, Putin has brought Russia to a critical situation. The Russian economy has no chance to recover even after the sanctions are lifted.

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