INSIDE RUSSIA - WHAT'S HAPPENING IN RUSSIA RIGHT NOW | September 15, 2026

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RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT SHARPLY DOWNGRADES INFLATION FORECAST AFTER RECORD 16-YEAR SURGE IN GASOLINE PRICES 

The Russian government has significantly worsened its inflation forecast for the current year in response to the fuel crisis that has engulfed the country’s provinces and major cities following a series of Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries.

According to the Economy Ministry’s new estimate, consumer price growth this year will reach 6.8%, almost one-third higher than the ministry’s original forecast of 5.2%, The Bell reports, citing two sources familiar with the ministry’s updated macroeconomic forecast.

According to the Economy Ministry’s calculations, despite the Central Bank’s still-high key interest rate, inflation will accelerate this year compared with last year (5.6%) and will continue to rise during the remaining months of the year: in August, according to the state statistics agency Rosstat, it stood at 6.34%.

As follows from the Rosstat data, from January through August, fuel prices at Russian gas stations rose by more than 20% after dozens of oil refineries came under drone attacks, oil refining volumes in the country fell to a 20-year low, and gasoline production barely covered two-thirds of domestic demand.

Year-on-year (compared with August 2025), the average price of gasoline jumped by 25.9% — the highest increase since August 2008, according to EMISS data.

Fuel costs also appear to be driving food inflation, along with weather conditions — a cold spring, summer drought, and rainy autumn, Raiffeisenbank analysts write. The seasonal summer decline in vegetable prices this year is significantly smaller than last year, while year-on-year, the “borscht set” is rapidly becoming more expensive: cabbage by 38%, beets and onions by 32%, potatoes by 30%, and carrots by 20%.

Moreover, starting October 1, Russia is set for a record increase in utility tariffs in 17 years: the average increase nationwide will be 17%, while in some provinces it will reach 20% or more. 

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ELECTION COMMISSION MEMBERS FROM AN ANTI-WAR PARTY ARE DENIED REGISTRATION AND SENT MILITARY SUMMONSES 

In Moscow, eight out of 10 territorial election commissions (TECs) to which Russia’s only anti-war party Yabloko submitted lists of more than 100 election observers refused to register them. The commissions cited errors, incomplete information, and discrepancies in the documents. 

The party believes that the TECs violated the procedure for accepting documents and has appealed to the Central Election Commission.

In St. Petersburg, candidates also encountered problems submitting their lists of election observers: at one TEC, the documents were accepted by an unknown man who introduced himself as a commission employee, while at another, a candidate had to wait for about five hours for the documents to be accepted.

In Tula province, Yabloko’s candidate Kira Kalinicheva was unable to submit the lists of election observers due to reports of bombs being planted at two TECs. Yabloko called what was happening “organized sabotage.”

At the same time, several members of election commissions in St. Petersburg nominated by Yabloko received summonses to the military enlistment office through the state services portal Gosuslugi for Friday — the day polling stations open, Fontanka reports. The recipients were summoned for 9:00 a.m. to update their records. All of them serve on commissions overseen by TEC No. 44. City Election Commission member Pavel Shapchits confirmed receiving the summons and told the publication about it.

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DOZENS OF RUSSIAN OFFICIALS ARE FINED FOR FAILING TO MEET MILITARY RECRUITMENT TARGETS 

Officials in Russian provinces are being massively fined for failing to meet targets for recruiting contract soldiers for the war in Ukraine. Politician Andrei Pivovarov and his colleagues from the Anti-War Committee of Russia found 61 court rulings in such cases, reports Vot Tak. The researchers found that administrative liability for failing to recruit enough people for the front is provided for in at least 51 Russian provinces, while another 21 have rules allowing officials to be punished for related violations.

For example, in the city of Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol province, officials managed to recruit 11 out of 19 contract soldiers. In Turkmensky District of the province, the target was six people, but only four signed contracts, resulting in district’s deputy head Ilfat Khasimov being fined 30,000 rubles ($350).

A particularly large-scale recruitment campaign for the war was organized in the city of Bratsk, Irkutsk province. In 2025, the city was given a target of 645 contract soldiers. To meet it, the administration held 71 operational headquarters meetings. Three mobile groups of officials and police officers visited more than 14,000 addresses and held nearly 3,000 conversations. The authorities also distributed leaflets, placed advertisements, and printed military recruitment notices on utility bills. However, by November 1, only 369 people had agreed to go to war.

In court, officials complained that they could not guarantee fulfillment of the recruitment target because signing a contract with the Defense Ministry is voluntary under the law. For example, the Bratsk administration tried to recruit more than 260 orphans and orphanage graduates who were awaiting housing provided by the state, but ultimately only one person signed a contract.

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RUSSIAN PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES ARE AGAIN BEING FORCED TO VOTE ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE ELECTION 

Public-sector employees in the Russian city of St. Petersburg are once again being forced to vote on the first day of the parliamentary election. Five sources among employees of museums, including the Hermitage, schools, and medical organizations told local outlet Bumaga about this.

At one of the city’s medical institutions, employees are allegedly being asked to vote strictly before noon on September 18. Those working the night shift or taking the day off are also expected to vote.

A Hermitage employee said that they are being forced to participate in elections for the first time, but those who come to vote are even promised a day off. According to Bumaga, employees of some schools in the city are also being given a day off for voting.

Three public-sector employees said they were asked to report to the staff member in charge after voting. At the Hermitage, according to the publication, they are even keeping a table with the names of those who participated in the vote.

Public-sector employees in the Russian province of Altai said they were being forced to register in the remote electronic voting system “under threat of losing their bonus” and “problems at work,” writes Sibirsky Express.

In the Chuvash Republic of Russia, public-sector employees are also being forced to participate in remote electronic voting, reports Serdaya Chuvashia. For example, employees of the Social Fund in the city of Cheboksary were forced to submit applications and required to provide their confirmation numbers. Teachers from the city of Novocheboksarsk reported a similar situation.

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RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF HOURS ALLOCATED TO WAR PREPARATION AT SCHOOLS 

Russian schools have increased the number of hours allocated to the mandatory basic military training (BMT) coursework by 2.5 times. The course includes, among other things, handling drones and training in the use of firearms. This was announced by Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov. 

“Starting this academic year, 50% of the ‘Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland’ course is allocated to BMT, that is, 68 hours over four academic years,” he told RIA Novosti. 

Previously, 20% of the time devoted to the Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland course was allocated to BMT for schoolchildren. 

According to the Education Ministry, the goal of the BMT coursework is to develop readiness for military service and acquire knowledge and skills related to the defense of the state. Students in grades 8 through 11 will study the fundamentals of national security, drill training, military regulations and discipline, civil defense, the use of protective equipment, and procedures during evacuation. The coursework also covers countering extremism and terrorism, as well as practical first-aid training. 

“The program includes, among other things, the study of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as training exercises,” Kravtsov noted.

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THE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FESTIVAL KICKS OFF IN RUSSIA: AUTHORITIES PROVIDE FOREIGN GUESTS WITH UNRESTRICTED INTERNET ACCESS FOR THEM TO POST ABOUT RUSSIA 

On September 11, the week-long International Youth Festival kicked off in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. About 10,000 people are participating — 5,000 Russians and 5,000 foreigners. The organizers officially state that the forum is intended to demonstrate “Russia’s openness” to foreign guests.

The festival is organized by the state youth agency Rosmolodezh and the government of Sverdlovsk province of Russia. The organizing committee is headed by Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration. 

For foreign participants of the festival, organizers have provided internet access to resources blocked in Russia, including Western social networks and messaging apps. This was reported by the outlets Svet Yekaterinburg and Signal Ural. The festival’s hotline also confirmed to independent outlet Agentstvo that foreigners have free access to their “usual services,” linking this to the need for participants to create “content” about the festival on social media.

Foreign guests at the festival were “given special SIM cards with no restrictions and no blocked social networks,” Svet Yekaterinburg wrote on Monday. The outlet also reported that the festival has “two different Wi-Fi networks: one for Russians with restrictions, and another completely unrestricted one for foreigners.”

Russian participants cannot connect to the network for foreigners, Signal Ural writes. To authenticate, users must enter the personal number on their accreditation badge, according to the publication.

Additionally, foreign participants were given separate SIM cards, the festival hotline confirmed to an Agentstvo editor. “We can only say that the SIM cards issued to foreign delegates do indeed allow them to access the usual services they use abroad. I can’t say anything about Wi-Fi; I only know about the SIM cards,” a hotline employee said. According to her, this was most likely done “for the convenience of guests.”

Foreign participants were provided with unrestricted internet access so that they could “broadcast their participation, post materials, content, fill their social media,” another hotline employee said. “Our participants live in a different information reality,” the Agentstvo source said.

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MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN RUSSIAN PROVINCE ARE URGED TO GO FIGHT IN UKRAINE 

In the city of Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Russian Republic Buryatia, 5th–8th grade schoolchildren were urged to go to war in Ukraine during a sporting event. This was reported on social media by Sayana Fedotova, the daughter of Vyacheslav Markhaev, head of the Buryat branch of the Communist Party, and noted by the People of Baikal project. 

On September 13, Ulan-Ude hosted the annual nationwide Cross of Nations race. This year, a military recruitment station was set up at the venue. When the race for 5th–8th grade students ended, a man in military uniform took the stage. According to Fedotova, he began praising the schoolchildren and saying, “We need you, we are fighting, come join us, we won’t make it without you.”

“They are saying this to schoolchildren at the Cross of Nations. They are saying that they should go to war. Schoolchildren. Kids,” Fedotova emphasized. 

She said that she left the event “literally in tears,” as she is raising children herself. “I love my country. It is rich in people, above all. I believe that everyone has the right to life. I have always taught my children this. Why can’t people live in peace?” the daughter of the head of the Buryat branch of the Communist Party asked. 

Markhaev himself has directly called on the authorities to end the fighting in Ukraine. 

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RUSSIAN PROVINCE APPROVES BAN ON DISPENSING MORE THAN 30 LITERS OF FUEL PER VEHICLE 

The authorities of the Leningrad province of Russia, where the fuel crisis sharply worsened after the shutdown of “Kinef,” the largest oil refinery in the country’s northwest, have decided to introduce a limit on the amount of fuel dispensed at gas stations. 

“The situation remains difficult,” provincial head Alexander Drozdenko said on Tuesday, promising to “deal with” the situation and urging people to “avoid panic.” To this end, he said, several measures had been agreed upon with the management of major oil companies, including the introduction of limits at gas stations as a “temporary measure” until October 1.

The restriction will be introduced in the province “in the coming days,” local outlet Fontanka reported, citing the press service of the provincial government. According to Drozdenko, around 20% of private and small gas stations in the Leningrad province have now closed “due to the inability to purchase the necessary volumes on the exchange.” At the remaining gas stations, the situation “with AI-92 gasoline is stabilizing,” while AI-95 “remains difficult” because “there is less of it on the market than usual.” 

“I ask you to treat this with understanding. According to the information available, the situation will improve in October, and the oil companies confirm this as well,” the governor added.

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CAPITAL OUTFLOW FROM RUSSIA EXCEEDS 100% OF GDP OVER A QUARTER CENTURY OF PUTIN’S RULE 

The Russian economy has been living for decades with large-scale capital outflows abroad, which over the past quarter century have exceeded 100% of GDP, according to calculations by the government-affiliated Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASF).

According to CMASF estimates, over the past 10 years, Russia’s real sector has lost 3% of GDP annually as a result of capital outflows. The overall outflow from the economy over the past three decades has averaged 4–5% of GDP per year.

Russia experienced a record capital flight in 2022, according to CMASF data: more than 12% of GDP “flowed” abroad amid the departure of Western companies and the emigration of hundreds of thousands of citizens who took their savings and proceeds from the sale of assets with them.

More than 10% of GDP “flowed” out of the country in 2014, following the annexation of Crimea and the first wave of Western sanctions. Russia experienced a comparable outflow — also around 10% of GDP — only during the global financial crisis of 2008–09.

“Net capital outflow from the domestic real sector is chronic in nature — it has been observed for several decades. Together with the net outflow of investment income from the real sector, it steadily fluctuates within 4–5% of GDP,” the CMASF report says. Cumulatively, in 2001–25, the outflow from the real sector exceeded 110% of GDP, while the total outflow from the economy amounted to 130% of GDP.

These are high figures by global standards for countries with comparable income levels, CMASF emphasizes. For example, in Hungary, Slovakia, and Thailand, net capital outflow remains below 1% of GDP per year, while in Argentina and South Africa it is below 0.5% of GDP. Bulgaria, Poland, Egypt, India, and Brazil, meanwhile, have net capital inflows.

The Russian Central Bank, which previously published statistics on capital exports by the private sector, classified them as secret shortly after the war began. Its historical data, however, show that in 2001–21, cumulative capital outflow from Russia reached $780.8 billion. This amounts to 65.77 trillion rubles ($773.8 billion) at the current exchange rate — a sum that is 1.5 times larger than the annual federal budget (44 trillion rubles, or $517.6 billion) and exceeds the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves ($769 billion as of September 1). Over the 27 years since 1994, according to the Central Bank, capital outflow from Russia amounted to $907.4 billion.

ON THAT NOTE, WE END TODAY’S NEWS BROADCAST.

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K