Russia's public debt grows to nearly 20 trillion rubles

In the first quarter of 2021, Russia's public debt has grown by 741.3 billion rubles and came close to 20 trillion rubles, having stopped at 19.7 trillion, a report from the Accounts Chamber about the execution of the federal budget for the reporting period said.

In percentage terms, Russia's public debt has grown by 3.9 percent during three months, whereas the total debt reached 17 percent of projected GDP. 

Russia's domestic debt amounts to 15.434 trillion rubles (increased by 4.6 percent), while external debt made up $56.1 billion (declined by 1.1 percent in dollars and an increased by 1.4 percent in rubles).

Last year, Russia's public debt increased by 39.9 percent to 18.99 trillion rubles. Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, Russia's Ministry of Finance has significantly increased the volume of federal loan bond (OFZ) placements.

In April of this year, the United States imposed sanctions on the Russian public debt, having prohibited US-based companies from purchasing Russian securities directly. However, buying them on the secondary market is allowed.