Yes, Russia is Really Running Out of Money

Paul J. Warburg 17 min

Russia is economically desperate and fundamentally weak because it is forced to cut military pay and sell gold reserves. Russia is clearly economically desperate and its strategy for solvency is failing as it undermines its own long-term power.

  • Vladimir Putin

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    Russia forced to cut military bonuses and sell gold

    The Russian government has been compelled to reduce military signing bonuses and liquidate national gold reserves due to severe economic constraints that undermine its long-term power while attempting to maintain short-term solvency. The Kremlin's strategy of using high military pay to recruit soldiers and maintain domestic prosperity has failed as they can no longer afford these payments, indicating a critical shortage of funds. Despite Russia's national mythology of fiscal responsibility and low debt, it is forced to sell gold because no one trusts the Russian government enough to lend money or buy bonds.

  2. 6:10

    Russia's debt is hidden in regional budgets

    The Russian government disguises its true debt levels by pushing military expenses onto regional governments rather than the federal budget, making the overall system more vulnerable.

  3. 10:54

    Gold is used as a last resort for inflation

    Russia uses gold sales to prevent currency devaluation instead of printing money, but sanctions have drastically reduced the pool of buyers available to purchase this gold.

  4. 13:38

    Inflation is funding the war effort

    The Russian government has relied on inflation to fund military salaries and maintain an illusion of stability, but this strategy is now failing as revenue drops.

  5. 14:22

    Russia is economically desperate and weak

    The combination of reduced military pay, gold liquidation, and collapsing oil revenues proves that Russia is economically desperate and fundamentally weaker than its propaganda suggests.

  6. 14:42

    Oil and gas revenues are under severe attack

    Ukraine is actively striking Russian oil refineries, ports, and shadow fleet tankers, causing transport costs to skyrocket and further reducing Russia's already strained revenue.

Key points

  • 0:00

    The Russian government has been forced to drastically reduce military signing bonuses because it simply does not have the money anymore.

  • 0:00

    Russia has begun at a very large scale to sell off its stockpile of national gold.

  • 3:22

    Russia's low debt level exists because people are unwilling to lend to them or buy Russian bonds.

  • 6:10

    The Russian government pushes all its debt out away from the federal government into the budgets of regional governments.

  • 8:33

    Russia is forced to use gold as a backstop for collateral because nobody trusts the ruble as a reserve currency.

  • 10:54

    Russia is losing money and its gold reserves quickly because buyers force it to sell at a discount.

  • 14:42

    Ukraine is actively striking Russian oil refineries and shadow fleet tankers, drastically increasing transport costs.

  • 13:38

    The Russian government has relied on inflation to fund military salaries and maintain an illusion of stability.

  • 13:20

    Russia is economically desperate as it combines reduced military pay with the liquidation of gold reserves.

  • 15:40

    Russia is weak and on the wrong side, contrary to its propaganda claims of strength.

Who and where

People · 1

  • Drawing of Vladimir Putin

    Vladimir Putin 2

    President of the Russian Federation

    Photo 1

1. Photo: Пресс-служба Президента России, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · Wikidata · redrawn in our house style (Vladimir Putin)

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