Today in Russian Business – Feb 26th, 2009

Budget revenues for this year have been almost halved, but the state intends to increase spending by $14 billion to support the economy – never mind the deficit.  The Sochi Olympics continues its search for sponsors from the airline and insurance sectors.  It is estimated that the project has thus far received $750 million in pledges from Russian firms.  One-third of Russia’s weapons makers are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the high cost of domestic credit.  The Deposit Insurance Agency has spent $1.12 billion – ‘one of the largest sums of money ever spent in Russia on rescuing a bank’ – on VEFK Bank.  The number of Russians set to lose their jobs, in cuts notified to the government but not yet been carried out, has increased tenfold in the last four months, to half a million.  Dmitry Medvedev has charged prosecutors with the task of ensuring that state bailout funds are not ‘abused or manipulated’.  On Russia’s pyramid schemes.