Siluanov pointed out the importance of the "locomotive on the siding" in the event of a crisis

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Finance Minister Anton Siluanov admitted that the country's authorities could not have expected the closure of entire sectors of the economy due to the crisis caused by the CORONAVIRUS. “We were preparing to lower oil prices , but here one overlapped the other,” the minister told RBC television.

“The conclusion is that you must always keep the gunpowder dry, as they say, and have a locomotive on a siding. That is, do not be tempted by proposals to increase the deficit and increase debt. This applies to both the federal level and the subjects of the Russian Federation,” Siluanov stressed.

The minister pointed out that if the budget had not accumulated a "margin of safety", now it would be difficult to make decisions "in terms of responding with such large financial investments".

At the end of October, Siluanov estimated the cost of supporting citizens, entrepreneurs and healthcare modernization at 4.5% of GDP, or 5 trillion rubles. “These are the resources that we have in the national plan for a wide range of issues. Speaking in general, how much money the state will spend this year and next, then this is about 9% of GDP,” the minister noted. A number of economists recommended that the Russian government increase spending even more to support the population and businesses during the crisis, both by increasing the public debt and by more actively spending the National Welfare Fund.