(MOSCOW) – The Russian Federation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis, having exhausted its anticipated annual federal budget deficit within the first three months of 2026. This rapid financial decline has sparked growing resentment across distant regions of the country, where local deputies, intellectuals and opinion leaders increasingly blame Moscow and the fiscal policies of the Russian dictator for their mounting poverty and deteriorating public services.
The recent decision by the Trump administration to lift certain oil sanctions has been met with disappointment by Ukrainian observers, though analysts remain deeply sceptical that this measure will be sufficient to save a collapsing Russian economy.
According to Ukrainian commentator Anna Danylchuk, who monitors regional Russian broadcasts, the financial ruin of the state is becoming impossible to hide. The Russian dictator has exhausted state funds to sustain his military aggression, leaving no money to pay salaries, compensate military personnel, or maintain basic municipal utilities.
Across the Russian Federation, numerous regions have endured a brutal winter without heating or electricity. This infrastructure failure was not the result of external attacks but a direct consequence of a completely depleted maintenance budget. Analysts note that even a temporary rise in global oil prices will not generate the capital required to patch existing fiscal holes, let alone fund essential development or investment.
In a desperate bid to manage the spiralling deficit, the Russian central bank and the ministry of finance implemented a series of punitive economic measures. Initially, authorities increased taxes, a move that failed to generate revenue and instead triggered a massive wave of business closures.
Subsequently, the state applied intense pressure on large enterprises, which unexpectedly resulted in Russian oligarchs and former allies openly criticising the Kremlin on social media. Finally, the state imposed exorbitant utility fee hikes on a population already struggling to afford basic food supplies. Despite these aggressive domestic extraction methods, the government still failed to bridge the catastrophic budget shortfall.
As the financial crisis deepens, resource rich regions such as Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Sakha are bracing for further exploitation by Moscow. Sakha, also known as Yakutia, serves as a stark example of this internal colonial extraction. Despite covering a landmass larger than India and possessing immense natural wealth including all of the country’s gold, diamonds, oil and gas, the republic ranks near the bottom of economic development among the more than eighty federal subjects.
During a brief period of autonomy in the 1990s, Sakha was highly prosperous. Today, its population of nearly one million suffers from severe underdevelopment and a lack of basic logistics, while Moscow siphons their resources to manufacture missiles and drones.
Regional leaders in Sakha are now openly accusing Moscow of stealing both their natural wealth and their people, pointing to the disproportionate conscription of ethnic minorities from distant regions to serve as cannon fodder. Observers highlight that this demographic extraction prevents local populations from developing their own economies.
Furthermore, international organisations responsible for human rights and the prosecution of crimes against humanity are facing severe criticism for their failure to adequately address these systemic abuses. The broader international community is increasingly recognising that the Russian state fuels global instability, extending its malign influence by supporting regimes in Iran and North Korea and orchestrating protests worldwide.
The inevitable dissolution of the Russian Federation is now being discussed as a natural 21st century process, driven by the inability of such an archaic empire to survive in a modern diverse environment. Ukrainian commentators are actively building bridges with intellectual leaders from these oppressed regions, envisioning a future of direct diplomatic and economic cooperation, including resource trading and tourism, once republics like Sakha achieve independence.
