Russia’s federal budget deficit amounted to 1.486 trillion rubles (about $22 billion), or 4.6% of the country’s gross domestic product, in the first five months of 2016, the state news agency Tass reported Wednesday. Federal revenue totaled 4.64 trillion rubles between January and May, while federal expenses reached 6.13 trillion rubles, it said. According to the Russian Finance Ministry, the country’s budget deficit amounted to 350.36 billion rubles, or 5.5% of the Russian GDP, in May 2016. The Russian economy has plunged into recession since 2014 amid the drop in global oil prices and western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s alleged intervention in the Ukraine crisis.
