During the session, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin laid out a firm stance on Russia’s fiscal architecture, stressing that the country cannot be sliced into a central hub and a collection of distant regions. He argued that the nation operates under a single legal, tax, and budget framework, and that any transformation period should be guided by a financial system focused on serving national goals while protecting welfare for all citizens. The remarks formed part of the VII Moscow Financial Forum, a gathering where policy makers, business leaders, and urban strategists discuss how city finances interlock with national priorities during times of change. Sobyanin’s message was not just about numbers; it was a reminder that fiscal decisions made in Moscow have implications that reach far beyond city limits and shape the broader economic and social fabric of the federation.
We live in the same country, Sobyanin said, and the urge to draw sharper lines between regions and centers runs contrary to reality. He insisted that there is no region that stands apart from the country as a whole, and that collective unity is essential for coherent planning, predictable governance, and durable progress. This call for unity resonated with an audience accustomed to debates over regional autonomy and fiscal devolution, underscoring the belief that national cohesion is a prerequisite for delivering consistent services, maintaining competitiveness, and safeguarding social welfare across diverse communities.
Sobyanin added that the budget system’s stability has been safeguarded through the explicit understanding and support of the president and the government. Long-term, predictable inter-budget relations are crucial for letting cities and regions plan investment, deliver essential services, and maintain infrastructure without the fear of sudden policy shifts. In an era when fiscal rules can appear capricious, his emphasis on stability was a defense of a framework that favors strategic, not reactive, budgeting. The point was clear: predictable rules create room for prudent, forward-looking decisions that benefit citizens everywhere, not just in the capital.
“If the rules change every day, the whole country will not understand where to move,” the mayor warned, detailing the practical consequences of instability. He argued that a coherent, stable financial system is the backbone of effective administration—from funding hospitals and schools to supporting social programs and regional development. In such a system, decisions are informed by reliable forecasts and consistent policy directions, enabling municipalities to align their plans with national priorities while still addressing local needs. Sobyanin’s point was that continuity in fiscal policy elevates confidence among investors, workers, and residents who rely on predictable governance to plan their lives and livelihoods.
On the revenue side, Sobyanin highlighted that tax receipts transferred from Moscow to the federal budget have grown fivefold since 2010, underscoring the city’s substantial contribution to national finances. This rising transfer figure reflects the Moscow economy’s expanding scale, productivity gains, and the practical reality that the capital generates wealth that supports wider state programs. The discussion framed Moscow not as a drain on the federal treasury but as a robust engine within a shared fiscal system where the capital’s prosperity helps sustain services and development across the country, including regions that depend on federal support for critical needs.
He also cited the large ring metro line as a concrete example of how city-led infrastructure can create financial flows that feed back into the national budget. The project has effectively yielded federal revenue in amounts comparable to Moscow’s own expenditures, illustrating a productive alignment between urban mobility, regional growth, and federal finance. The metro corridor is presented as a symbol of how large-scale urban projects drive economic activity, improve connectivity, and enlarge the tax base that in turn supports nationwide objectives. It demonstrated that strategic urban investment can be mutually reinforcing for city vitality and national development, rather than a zero-sum game between different levels of government.
Sobyanin closed by drawing attention to the broader social settlement that underpins this fiscal approach. He noted that today one in eight Russians receives medical care, social services, and pension insurance funded by the capital’s resources, with Moscow residents contributing extra-budgetary funds through payroll deductions. This arrangement highlights the interdependence of regional budgets and the national welfare system, and it places a spotlight on how capital-generated revenue can sustain social protections that ripple outward to people beyond Moscow’s borders. The message was that a well-designed, cooperative budget framework can maintain high standards of public services across the federation, while still accommodating the needs and ambitions of individual cities.