Yakutia's money: the republic's public debt hits a record 71.2 bn rubles — where it comes from, how Yakutia compares and who will pay

Column “Yakutia’s money”. Sourced analysis, followed by the Sardaana News editorial position.

On 21 October Yakutia’s acting finance minister Ivan Alekseev told deputies of the Il Tumen that as of 1 October 2026 the republic’s public debt stood at 71.2 bn rubles — 12.2 bn more than at the start of the year (Baikal Journal). It is an all-time high: according to Russia’s Finance Ministry, on 1 January of every year since 2016 Yakutia’s debt never exceeded 59 bn rubles. We reported that it was 68.8 bn on 1 July in our piece on the utilities crisis.

Yakutia’s debt by year

As of 1 January	Public debt, bn rubles
2016	38.29
2017	44.90
2018	51.82
2019	50.64
2020	49.17
2021	49.13
2022	45.55
2023	48.59
2024	52.35
2025	55.18
2026	59.00
1 July 2026	68.8
1 October 2026	71.2

Source: Russian Finance Ministry, “Volume and structure of the public debt of Russian regions” as of 1 January of each year (archive); 2026 — Yakutia Finance Ministry via Baikal Journal. Within the year debt is temporarily higher because of short-term Treasury loans: on 1 June 2026 it reached 77.3 bn, per the Yakutia Finance Ministry (SakhaTime).

Since 2016 the debt has nearly doubled (+86%), and in the first nine months of 2026 alone it rose 21%. Structure on 1 October: 45% federal budget loans, 38% bonds, 16.8% state guarantees. On top of that the republic took 18 bn rubles in short-term Federal Treasury loans, 15 bn of it for the “northern delivery” of winter supplies (Baikal Journal).

The government forecasts debt of 67.9 bn rubles in 2027, 70.8 bn in 2028 and over 76 bn in 2029. The republic’s Finance Ministry says the figures remain “within acceptable debt sustainability”.

Yakutia compared with other regions

Debt burden is debt as a share of the budget’s own (tax and non-tax) revenues. RIA Rating data as of 1 January 2026 (for 2025):

Region	Debt on 1 Jan 2026, bn rubles	Debt / own revenues
Kemerovo region (Kuzbass)	118.52	74.8%
Republic of Buryatia	38.61	68.2%
Republic of Mordovia	26.18	51.4%
Irkutsk region	82.13	35.6%
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)	59.00	28.1%
Khabarovsk territory	50.59	27.8%
Krasnodar territory	106.19	24.5%
Krasnoyarsk territory	67.52	16.4%
Moscow region	164.89	14.7%
Russia, all regions	3481.13	18.9%

Yakutia’s burden is 28.1% — 50th of 89, above the Russian average (18.9%); a year earlier it was 27.3%. In absolute terms the republic owes more than the Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk territories, which also have resource economies. With 12.2 bn added in 2026, Yakutia’s burden will rise noticeably by year-end.

Why the debt is growing

• Budget deficit. The 2026 budget was adopted with a 12.75 bn ruble deficit: revenue 337 bn, spending 349.8 bn (Yakutia.Info); during the year spending was raised to 365.5 bn (Arcticpost).
• Falling diamond revenue. In nine months the mineral extraction tax on diamonds fell by 5.8 bn rubles, or 41.2%, due to a strong ruble, lower prices and reduced output (Arcticpost). In 2025 the budget expected 8.5 bn rubles in ALROSA dividends and got 366 mn (SakhaTime); no dividends at all are planned for 2027–2029, though the company once formed about 60% of budget revenue (Interfax).
• Money flows to the centre. In 2024 Yakutia sent 183 bn rubles in taxes to the federal budget, 124 bn of it oil extraction tax (Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Far East tax service data). For comparison, the republic budget’s entire own revenue for 2026 is about 220 bn rubles (337 bn minus 117.4 bn in transfers, Yakutia.Info).
• Utilities. In nine months alone 43.8 bn rubles went on subsidies to utilities covering the gap between cost-based and discounted tariffs (Arcticpost); the head of the republic has admitted these subsidies are 10 bn short in 2026.
• Northern delivery and resource dependence. 15 bn of Treasury loans went to winter supplies; extractive companies provide 78% of profit tax, and revenue depends on the ruble and sanctions (Arcticpost).
• The war. The federal budget spends about 38% of all its outlays on the military (SIPRI), and regions have to plug gaps with borrowing — see our column “Instead of war, Russia could have…”.

Where this leads

• Debt is getting more expensive. Debt service is capped at 6.18 bn rubles in 2026, 8.29 bn in the 2027 draft (+34%) and about 8.94 bn a year in 2028–2029 — more than the republic’s entire 2027 agriculture programme (7.84 bn) (SakhaTime). In May 2026 Yakutia borrowed on the market at 13.7% a year (Vedomosti).
• Refinancing. In 2027 the republic must repay 15.08 bn rubles of old debt and borrow 17.37 bn anew (SakhaTime). By law debt repayment and service cannot be cut — so when money runs short, everything else is cut.
• Social programmes and utilities. Every ruble of interest is a ruble not spent on boiler houses, roads, hospitals and schools.
• Dependence on Moscow. Almost half the debt is federal budget loans, plus Treasury credit lines. The creditor is the federal centre, and it sets the terms.

Sardaana News editorial position

Yakutia’s record debt is neither an accident nor a “temporary difficulty”. It is the result of a system in which Moscow takes the republic’s revenue while spending its own budget on war.

Yakutia produces oil, gas, gold and diamonds, yet in 2024 alone it sent 183 bn rubles in taxes to the federal budget — nearly as much as it keeps for itself. Diamond revenue is falling, ALROSA pays no dividends, and a federal centre that spends more than a third of its budget on war does not make up the losses. Aisen Nikolaev’s government does not argue with Moscow — it quietly plugs the holes with debt.

Yakutians will pay for it. Interest on the debt already costs more than the republic’s entire agriculture programme, and the utilities sector lives in permanent shortage. The bigger the debt, the less money for boiler houses, roads, hospitals and schools, the higher the tariffs, and the deeper the republic’s dependence on Moscow.

Yakutia needs the right to manage its own wealth. As long as the republic’s revenue goes to the war instead of its people, every new billion of debt is a bill handed to Yakutians.