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Russian District in Siberia to Cut 37% of Administrative Staff as Budget Gap Widens
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Authorities in Russia’s Irkutsk region have begun cutting public-sector jobs as a widening budget deficit forces local governments to reduce spending, The Moscow Times reported on October 27.
The layoffs have begun in the Nizhneilimsk municipal district, where 37% of administrative staff are expected to lose their jobs by the end of the year, district head Pavel Berezovsky stated.
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“We have major budget problems, and we are cutting our expenses,” Berezovsky noted. He added that the financial strain was affecting not only his district, but the wider region and other parts of Russia.
Among the first positions targeted are night guards at schools, kindergartens, and cultural centers, as well as workers at municipal companies responsible for local infrastructure.
Technical staff at social institutions in the Chunsky district are also expected to be cut. District head Nikolai Khrychov stated that several institutions would each lose four guards and four boiler-room workers.
“We feel very sorry for the people. But otherwise, we will not even have money for electricity at the same facility,” Khrychov was quoted as stating.
An updated 2026 budget proposal submitted to the Irkutsk regional legislature last week showed the deficit had widened to 11.8% of expenditures, up from 8.3% before the latest amendments.
Irkutsk is the second-largest economy in Russia’s Siberian Federal District by gross regional product, behind only Krasnoyarsk region, according to official data cited by The Moscow Times.
The cuts in Irkutsk come as financial pressure spreads across Russian regional budgets. UNITED24 Media reported that around 65 regions were preparing to reduce investment and infrastructure spending between 2027 and 2029, while Russia’s Finance Ministry projects a combined regional budget deficit of about $10.5 billion in 2027.
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