The war in Ukraine and the broad Western sanctions that followed took a heavy toll on the Russian treasury.

Although the country’s President Vladimir Putin has used several occasions to assert that the economy is doing well, last year the country experienced a record budget deficit. A trend that will continue into 2023.

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Now the oligarch Oleg Deripaska shouts a warning. He warns that the money will soon run out.

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska calls on Russian President Vladimir Putin to facilitate foreign investors and warns of the beginning of emptying the Russian treasury. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev/AP/NTB

– Below said the money will go already next year Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum in Siberia, according to Bloomberg. It invites foreign investors.

– The government must make Russia attractive to these investors by ensuring a safe business climate with more economic freedom and competition, the oligarch notes.

According to Bloomberg, the Kremlin is planning changes to taxation of oil companies in order to increase revenue, as well as the possibility of a one-time tax on other commodity producers.

– The money began to run out, which is why they began to pressure us for money, he says.

Punished since 2018

Deripaska is behind aluminum producer Rusal and has been sanctioned by the United States since 2018. The European Union also has sanctions against Deripaska.

Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, American and European companies had investments of more than NOK 3,600 billion in Russia.

Under the rule of the oligarchy, Russia still has access to markets with a total population of 4.5 billion, and $30,000 billion of global GDP.

– We thought we were a European country. Now, in the next 25 years, we will think more about our Asian past, Deripaska said at the conference.

Watch the video: A year after the outbreak of the Ukraine war – what can we expect in the future?