At a meeting Thursday the Russian government approved the draft federal budget for the next three years, which is aimed at ensuring stability of the Russian financial system. Under it, the budget surplus will be 74.1 billion rubles ($2.9 billion) in 2008, 14.2 billion rubles ($552.74 million) in 2009, and zero in 2010.
Federal budget income will be 6,644.4 billion rubles ($258.64 billion), and budget expenditure will amount to 6,570.3 billion rubles ($255.75 billion) in 2008. In 2009, federal budget income will stand at 7,465.4 billion rubles ($290.6 billion), or 5.9% of GDP, and budget expenditure will be 7,451.2 billion rubles ($290.04 billion), or 18.8% of GDP. Budget income and expenditure will stand at the equal level of 8,089.9 billion rubles ($314.9 billion), or 18.1% of GDP, in 2010.
Under the federal law, which follows the president's budget address to parliament for 2008-2010 in early March, the Russian Stabilization Fund, set up in 2004 as a cushion against inflation and world market price fluctuations to accumulate windfall oil revenues, will be transformed into the Reserve Fund and the Future Generations Fund.
On April 30, the government will submit the draft budget for 2008-2010 to the State Duma, now that it complies fully with the new Budget Code.
Early last week Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the country's financial system would remain stable at least until 2020, in the wake of adopted budget decisions.
