Putin has asked Russia’s oligarch class to voluntarily contribute to the state budget, according to reporting first published by the independent Russian outlet The Bell and followed up by the Financial Times. The requests were made in closed-door sessions. The Financial Times noted that a direct personal request from Putin leaves oligarchs little room to refuse.
At least two major figures have already agreed. Suleiman Kerimov, a senator with ties to the Kremlin, pledged roughly 100 billion rubles, or approximately $1.23 billion. Oleg Deripaska, a metals magnate, also indicated his willingness to contribute. Both men are under sanctions imposed by the United States and Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that the donations would go directly toward the war effort, though he confirmed the discussions had taken place and said Putin had welcomed the initiative.
Russia’s defense spending has nearly doubled since the invasion began
The context for these solicitations is a budget under severe pressure. Russia’s defense expenditures rose from roughly 9.1 trillion rubles (approximately $86 billion) in 2022 to around 15.5 trillion rubles (approximately $191 billion) in 2025, a jump of roughly 42 percent in the past year alone. That surge has been accompanied by significant ruble depreciation, eroding the real value of state revenues denominated in the domestic currency.
To close the gap, the Kremlin raised value-added tax from 20 to 22 percent last year, a measure expected to extract roughly $7.4 billion from small and medium enterprises over three years. Russia’s economy minister, Maxim Reshetnikov, indicated that a one-time windfall tax on large corporations, similar to the 10 percent levy imposed in 2023, may be imposed again this year.
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The businessmen who received Putin’s personal pitch were, according to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times, largely figures who built their wealth in the 1990s through relationships with the state. For them, contributing when the president asks directly is understood as an obligation that comes with that history.
Putin’s stated war goal remains control of all of Eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region
Putin told the assembled financial elite that Russian forces would continue fighting until they had seized the remaining territory of the Donbas, the industrial eastern region of Ukraine that Russia has only partially occupied since 2022. He had previously signaled some openness to demilitarized-zone arrangements during early contacts with American officials, but reversed that position after Ukraine made clear it would not accept terms that involved surrendering territory.
The decision to go directly to oligarchs for contributions reflects both the Kremlin’s fiscal constraints and Putin’s determination to press forward with maximalist objectives regardless of the economic cost. It is an unusual financing mechanism: rather than conventional budgetary instruments, the state is relying on personalized pressure applied to private wealth instead.
Oil prices and a possible Iran crisis are shaping the Kremlin’s budget calculus
Russia is also watching oil markets closely, particularly in light of the potential for price increases driven by military conflict involving the United States and Israel in Iran. Alexander Shokhin, chairman of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, was quoted by The Bell as saying that Putin expects any such crisis to resolve within three to four weeks and has not signaled to either the finance ministry or the business community that they should plan on sustained windfall revenues from elevated oil prices.