The total amount of cash circulating in Russia at the close of 2022 likely surpassed 16 trillion rubles, though analysts do not expect the upward trajectory to remain perfectly flat in the months ahead. This assessment comes from Yuri Belikov, chief executive of the rating agency Expert RA, and has been cited by RBC.
Central Bank data confirms that at the start of December, cash in circulation exceeded 15.5 trillion rubles. From January through November 2022, the money supply grew by 11 percent, or about 1.49 trillion rubles, signaling a robust expansion of liquidity across the economy (Source: Central Bank statistics; RBC, December 2022).
Further regulator materials show that on December 23, 2022, the total cash issued, including balances held in bank vaults, stood at 16.19 trillion rubles. Additionally, the Central Bank reported December cash outflows through the banking system totaling 693.4 billion rubles, underscoring continued liquidity movements within financial channels during the final month of the year (Source: Central Bank reports).
Compared with 2021, cash in circulation rose by about 5 percent. Notably, on February 25, the money stock grew by 1.41 trillion rubles, and a surge of 246.3 billion rubles occurred on September 22–23 following the announcement of partial mobilization. These large, policy-driven shifts illustrate how sudden macroeconomic and geopolitical events can influence cash demand and currency velocity over relatively short intervals (Source: Central Bank data; expert commentary).
Izvestia reported in the latter half of October that the cash held by Russian residents exceeded 15 trillion rubles for a second time in the history of monetary accounting, a development set against the backdrop of the partial mobilization policy. The observation highlights the persistent preference for physical cash among a broad segment of the population during periods of policy change and economic uncertainty (Source: Izvestia, October report).