The treasury system of Russia–2021: New development trends amid increasing budgetary constraints

Abstract

Subject. The article focuses on institutional transformations in bodies of the Federal Treasury in adopting the treasury payment mechanism and treasury service. Objectives. I analyze the performance of the public finance system in Russia during the COVID-19 crisis, and identify steps of the institutional environment emergence so as to adopt the treasury payment system and treasury service. I also evaluate whether it is possible to ensure the balance of the federal budget and regional budgets in Russia by placing temporarily available funds when introducing the treasury payment mechanism and implementing the technology of the single treasury account. Methods. The study is based on the systems and institutional approaches. I also resorted to general methods, such as the analysis, synthesis, comparison. Results. The revenue of the federal budget was found to drop considerably due to the lower business activity in Russia and worldwide and a decrease in the demand and prices for strategic power resources. The article outlines steps of the institutional environment emergence to adopt the treasury payment system and treasury service. Additional income from the placement of temporarily available federal and regional funds was found to be insufficient to ensure the balance of the above budgets. Conclusions and Relevance. Going beyond the structural conservatism of the national economy will lower the public finance sustainability risks amid rapidly changing development challenges, including the COVID-19 that outbroke worldwide in 2020. The findings can be used for practical purposes by the Federal Treasury and other parties to the treasury payment systems so as to improve its performance.