Dividend Drought: Sanctions and Interest Rates Have Bled russian Businesses Dry

Sanctions pressure, high interest rates, and tax hikes have taken their toll: the russian corporate sector entered 2026 in a state of controlled collapse. Three-quarters of the rf’s largest companies reported a decline in revenue and profit or direct losses at the end of 2025. Dividends have become a luxury that most can no longer afford.

More than half of russian companies, 53%, have reported cash flow gaps in 2026. For 27% of them, this is a new reality. The oil and gas and raw materials sectors, wholesale and retail trade, and heavy industry felt the crisis most acutely.

“gazprom”, which until recently was a symbol of the kremlin’s financial might, will leave shareholders without dividends for the second consecutive time. The company last paid dividends for the first half of 2022. Following suit, “rusal” and “alrosa”, two key companies in the aluminum and diamond sectors, have also refused to pay dividends. “rusal” has not paid dividends to shareholders since the first half of 2022 and does not intend to pay  for the first quarter of 2026 either.

The metallurgy sector is also struggling to stay afloat. “nlmk” and “mmk”, the largest steel producers in the rf, have advised shareholders to forget about dividends for 2025. “nlmk”  last paid dividends based on the results of 2023.

In the real estate market, the developer “samolet” has posted a net loss of 2.3 billion rubles, compared to a profit of 8.2 billion rubles a year earlier. The children’s retailer “korablik”,  one of the largest in its segment, is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, unable to withstand the debt burden and falling demand.

“rostelecom” has laid off 20,000 employees. The confectionery holding “united confectioners” has  cut a quarter of its staff amid falling sales. “bork-retail”’s profit has plummeted by 90% compared to 2024.

“volga avtodor” has   posted one of the worst results: revenue fell by 96%, and debts to creditors reached 3 billion rubles, which is five times the company’s total annual revenue.

Shareholders of “magnit”, “uralkali”, “seligdar”, “fix price”, “eurotrans”, “unipro”, “europlan”, and the car-sharing service “whoosh” – which posted a net loss of over 2.9 billion rubles – will receive no dividends either.

The “vk” holding company, led by vladimir kirienko, son of deputy head of the presidential administration sergei kirienko, did not disclose any profit or loss data in its quarterly financial results presentation. This suggests that “vk”’s net profit was likely negative once again.