Characteristic Features of the 2018–2020 Federal Budget

The article analyzes the present budget of the Russian Federation. In 2017, the GDP is estimated to have grown by a modest 1.5–2 percent with the inflation rate reduced to approximately 3 percent. This has led some government officials to claim that the new budget is socially responsible and is fulfilling the demands of the welfare state. The article considers the role of government debt and the influx of revenues that may help address the issues facing the federal government, including federal and regional debt and the need to increase funding to social services. It is argued that minimizing the level of inflation would spur real investment, but that the current fiscal policy has no effective anti-inflation mechanism. The analysis of the characteristic features of the federal budget shows both new and previous anomalies. The next three-year budget is procedurally specific with changes to the Budget Code. Characteristic features relate to the principle of full disclosure regarding budget incomes, expenses, and sources to cover the budget deficit. With a symbolic increase in government spending, the defining feature of the next budget is the real stabilization of expenses. The article concludes that the government budget as a whole and the principles of its formation fall short of the parameters for a budget of development or the budget of a welfare state.