New figures point to an unprecedented drawdown of state reserves to keep the budget afloat. Officials insist the measures are technical, but analysts see deeper signs of pressure on the Kremlin.

According to The Moscow Times, Russia’s Finance Ministry plans to sharply increase sales of foreign currency and gold from the National Welfare Fund (NWF).

From January 16 to February 5, the ministry will sell Chinese yuan and gold worth 12.8 billion rubles, or about $165 million, per day.

In total, the operation will amount to 192.1 billion rubles, roughly $2.48 billion.

The newspaper reported that this represents the largest daily volume of such sales in Russia’s history.

Reserves shrinking

The scale of the current operation marks a sharp acceleration.

In December, daily sales stood at about 5.6 billion rubles, meaning the current level is more than double.

According to figures cited by The Moscow Times, Russia’s government reserves fell by nearly 60 percent last year compared with pre-war levels, a drop of about 5.6 trillion rubles.

Putin forced to sell gold as Russia’s budget hole hits record levels

Some good news for a change.

Profit taking

Russia has generated gains from a surge in gold prices since the start of its war in Ukraine, with the value of the Bank of Russia's gold holdings increasing by more than $216 billion since February 2022.

The increase in the value of bullion restores most of Russia's lost financial capacity, even if it doesn't return the blocked reserves, and gold can still be monetized if needed.

Russia's international reserves reached $755 billion at the end of last year, including $326.5 billion held in gold, and the Finance Ministry expects gold prices to keep climbing over the long term to $5,000 an ounce and higher.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-20/russia-gains-216-billion-in-gold-rally-replacing-lost-assets?embedded-checkout=true