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Russia

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 120 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

22

Budget Oversight

85

Transparency

74

Open Budget Survey 2019

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – affect how equal a society is and the well-being of its people, including whether the most disadvantaged will have real opportunities for a better life. It is critical that governments inform and engage the public on these vital decisions that impact their lives.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions such as the legislature and auditor in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 7th edition of the OBS covers 117 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 226.91 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 1.26 MB
74 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Russia compared to others

Global Average
45
Georgia
81
Russia
74
Kyrgyz Republic
63
Ukraine
63
Kazakhstan
58
Mongolia
56
Azerbaijan
35
Tajikistan
17
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Russia’s ranking: 14 of 117 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Russia changed over time?

60
2010
74
2012
74
2015
72
2017
74
2019
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Russia

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2010 2012 2015 2017 2019
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Russia makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
Scroll
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2019 95
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2019 75
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2019 67
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2019 75
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2018 74
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2018 33
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2017 88
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2017 81

Russia’s transparency score of 74 in the OBS 2019 is near its score in 2017.

What changed in OBS 2019?

Russia has increased the availability of budget information by:

Publishing the Pre-Budget Statement online in a timely manner.
However, Russia has decreased the availability of budget information by:
Reducing the information provided in the Mid-Year Review.

Recommendations

Russia should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Improve the comprehensiveness of the Mid-Year Review by: providing an updated macroeconomic forecast for the entire budget year underway, displaying updated revenue estimates for the entire budget year underway (both by category and individual source), and presenting updated estimates of government borrowing and debt.
22 /100

Transparency alone is insufficient for improving governance. Inclusive public participation is crucial for realizing the positive outcomes associated with greater budget transparency.

The OBS also assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Russia has a public participation score of 22 (out of 100).

Public participation in Russia compared to others

Global Average
14
Kyrgyz Republic
33
Ukraine
33
Georgia
28
Russia
22
Kazakhstan
17
Mongolia
15
Azerbaijan
9
Tajikistan
7
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

13
/100
Formulation
(executive)
33
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
67
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Russia's Ministry of Finance has established a council during budget formulation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to monitor budget implementation.
Expand mechanisms during budget formulation that engage any civil society organization or member of the public who wishes to participate.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Russia's Federal Assembly holds parliamentary hearings related to the approval of the annual budget, but should also prioritize the following actions:

Pass legislation allowing any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during parliamentary hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.
85 /100

The OBS also examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Russia, together, provide adequate oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 85 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
83
100
adequate

Audit oversight

0
89
100
adequate
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Russia's Federal Assembly provides adequate oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and adequate oversight during the implementation stage. To further improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

A legislative committee should examine in-year budget implementation and publish reports with their findings online.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Russia Accounts Chamber, the following actions are recommended:

Ensure audit processes are reviewed by an independent agency.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

Russia does not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive and/or Parliament during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

  • Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2018 were assessed in the OBS 2019.
     
  • The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:

    Tatiana Ivanovna Vinogradova
    Consultant, Interregional Center “Strategy”
    7th Krasnoarmeyskaya 25/14 St.Petersburg, Russia
    [email protected]
  • To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert, and in Russia by a representative of the Ministry of Finance.

 

Past reports
Years
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Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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Country summary CN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary EN
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Country summary EN
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Questionnaire EN
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Country summary RU
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