Administration of regional budgets in 2016: the crisis has not been overcome

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaking in the State Duma with the report on the work of the Russian Government claimed that regional budget shortage has been eliminated and the number of regions with public debt exceeding revenues has been reduced [4]. This discussion makes the problem of proper assessment of sub-federal budgets relevant. Their deficit administration and accumulation of debts have become a steady trend in recent years. The past year has been marked by increased revenues and spending cuts, but even under these conditions most regions were unable to implement balanced budget policy: 54 constituent entities of the Russian Federation were running deficits with debts exceeding half their own revenues, which caused the weakening of investment and consumer demand. The situation is exacerbated by the decline in energy prices, destabilization of the Federal budget and a general decline in business activity in the country. The federal policy is also tightening: since 2014, there has been a steady decrease in financial support for territories, which forces regional authorities to address the issues of financing through local sources of revenues...