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According to the 2015 results, capital investments in Russia amounted to Rb 14.56 trillion having decreased 8.4% in real terms.

At present, the integration potential of the EEU is not utilized to full capacity. The economies of the EEU member-states are not much integrated into global added value chains.

Russia’s Finance Ministry has proposed raising, from 1 April 2016, the excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuels by respectively 2 and 1 roubles a litre. According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov1, this will generate about Rb 80bn in tax revenues to the consolidated budget, whereas prices of refined petroleum products will see no growth.

Russia’s Finance Ministry has been commissioned by Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev to explore the possibility of introducing taxes on sugary drinks, palm oil and other unhealthy foods. The Finance Ministry has welcomed the initiative.

In development of anti-crisis measures, the government considers among other things the prospect of abolishment of insurance contributions from 2017 and return to the single social tax (SST) administered by the Federal Tax Service (FTS).

As the Gaidar Forum has shown, there are no illusions about the current economic situation either with the expert community or the government and that is a positive signal.

On 20 January, Brent oil prices (March futures) fell to $27.8 a barrel, the level which was observed last time 12 years ago. If it is compared to February 2012, prices on oil depreciated nearly 4 times over.

Russia’s budget must be adapted to the current economic situation, otherwise a spontaneous “fine-tuning” may hit the population through high inflation, as was the case during the crisis in 1998–1999, assumed Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the 7th Gaidar Forum.

An expert discussion – “Islamic Finance: Problems in the Formation of the Industry” – was held at a Guidar Forum. The topic has proved relevant because it was discussed for two consecutive years.

In 2015, the Bank of Russia encountered a series of global challenges while pursuing the targets of its monetary policy. The economic situation in 2015 was characterized by the following features: Russian and Western bilateral sanctions were maintained, the prices of Russia’s basic export commodities kept falling, economic agents’ expectations for inflation remained high.

The WTO's 10th Ministerial Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 15 to 19 December 2015 culminated in committing to eliminate subsidies for agricultural exports.

On 15 December, the text of Federal Law of 14 December 2015, No 359-FZ 'On the Federal Budget for 2016' was posted to the Official Governmental Internet Portal of legal information. One day earlier, the RF Ministry of Finance published 'The Budget for the Citizens', an explanatory attachment to the Federal Law 'On the Federal Budget for 2016'.

After its two-day meeting, the US Federal Reserve released, on 16 December, its long-awaited decision that the key interest rate would be increased by 0.25 pp. – to 0.25–0.5% per annum.

Last week, the Bank of Russia issued a revised forecast of Russia’s economic development in 2016-2018, which takes into account the risks that emerged in Q4 2015.

At the Bank of Russia Board of Directors' meeting last Friday, it was decided that the key interest rate should be kept unchanged. The key interest rate is to stay at 11% until the Bank of Russia Board of Directors' meeting scheduled for 29 January 2015.

This week, the Central Bank of Russia has declared its cash emission plans till the end of this year. According to the estimate announced by G.I. Luntovsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, the volume of cash funds is to increase by Rb 1 trillion before the end of the current year. Is that much or little?