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Gold, once untouchable, becomes Russia’s financial lifeline
Russia’s central bank has begun selling gold from its reserves on the domestic market for the first time, marking a policy reversal as Moscow scrambles to cover a budget deficit that has ballooned to 20 times last year's level, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) reported on 27 November. The shift adds another strain to Russia’s already-stretched war finances. Moscow’s federal deficit hit 4.2 trillion rubles ($48 billion) in the first ten months of 2025—a figure that was just 0.2 trillion rubles during the same period last year, according to Russia’s Finance Ministry data. Oil and gas revenues ... (full story)