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Russia

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 125 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

33

Budget Oversight

81

Transparency

66

Open Budget Survey 2023

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.

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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 legislatures and national audit offices, 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 9th edition of the OBS covers 125 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 235.68 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 1.11 MB
66 /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
87
Azerbaijan
67
Russia
66
Kazakhstan
63
Mongolia
62
Kyrgyz Republic
61
Armenia
60
Tajikistan
33
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Russia’s ranking: 25 of 125 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Russia changed over time?

74
2012
74
2015
72
2017
74
2019
73
2021
66
2023
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 2012 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023
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
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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. 2023 Published Late
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. 2023 84
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2023 61
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. 2023 100
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2022 Published Late
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. 2022 Not Produced
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. 2021 91
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2021 90

Russia’s transparency score of 66 in the OBS 2023 is moderately lower than its score in 2021.

What changed in OBS 2023?

Russia has decreased the availability of budget information by:

Failing to publish the In-Year Reports online in a timely manner.
Failing to produce the Mid-Year Review.

Recommendations

Russia should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Publish the Pre-Budget Statement and In-Year Reports online in a timely manner.
Produce and publish the Mid-Year Review online in a timely manner.
Strengthen mechanisms for monitoring compliance with budget transparency standards and hold accountable those responsible for delays or deficiencies in publishing budget documents.
33 /100

The OBS 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 33 (out of 100).

Public participation in Russia compared to others

Global Average
15
Georgia
44
Kyrgyz Republic
35
Russia
33
Mongolia
19
Azerbaijan
11
Kazakhstan
11
Armenia
11
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

20
/100
Formulation
(executive)
55
/100
Approval
(legislature)
0
/100
Implementation
(executive)
78
/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 to engage any civil society organization or member of the public who wishes to participate.
Establish feedback mechanisms to ensure that inputs provided by the public during budget consultations are carefully considered and responded to by relevant government authorities.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

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

Allow any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during its 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.
81 /100

The OBS 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 81 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
78
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:

The legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
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 2022 were assessed in the OBS 2023.
 
The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:
Tatiana Vinogradova
Consultant

[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.
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Questionnaire EN
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