Overview
- Bank deposits have fallen sharply this summer, with central bank and market data showing more than 620 billion roubles pulled in July and about 286.4 billion roubles taken out in the first two weeks of August.
- Depositors cite fear that the Kremlin could freeze or seize private savings to fund the war in Ukraine, a worry that spread across social media and was publicly denied by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
- Escalating Ukrainian strikes on logistics and energy targets, including repeated hits on Wildberries warehouses, have heightened public and corporate nervousness and helped drive the rush for cash.
- The outflows are straining banks already carrying heavy state‑directed loans and bad debt, forcing the central bank to expand lending and prompting the Finance Ministry to cancel bond auctions for lack of demand.
- If withdrawals continue, officials may resort to stronger measures such as capital controls or limits on withdrawals, and households face rising hardship as more cash circulates outside the banking system.