Bloomberg: Russia's only escape from its budget pain is economic growth

Russia is running down its wealth funds and the budget is deep in the red for years to come. It's something only economic growth can cure. Saddled with social outlays and spending on security and defense that are at almost 60 percent of this year's total expenditure, and oil prices going nowhere fast, the room for fiscal maneuver is limited. The seven-month deficit widened to 1.5 trillion rubles ($23.7 billion), an increase of more than 6 percent from June, the Finance Ministry said on August 15. An economic upswing is "the only way out," said Dmitry Dudkin, head of fixed-income research at Uralsib.