Russia Gold Reserves: Holdings, Sanctions and Gold Sales
Russia’s gold reserves stood at around 2,264 tonnes at the end of September 2026, as reported by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. After years of build-up, the holdings have been falling since early 2026. At the same time, gold has become more important for Russia because a large part of its other foreign reserves is frozen abroad.
How much gold does Russia have?
The World Gold Council lists Russia in seventh place at the end of September 2026 with around 2,264 tonnes. According to Bank of Russia data, the holdings on 1 July 2026 were 73.4 million fine ounces, or around 2,283 tonnes. At the end of August, according to the World Gold Council, they were 2,271 tonnes.
Gold makes up around 40.6 per cent of Russia’s foreign reserves. Other calculations arrive at higher shares, depending on whether the frozen assets are included.
The Moscow Times gave a gold share of 47 per cent of reserves of US$809 billion for 1 March 2026. However, that total also includes the frozen assets, which Russia cannot access.
Gold and sanctions
After the attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries froze around US$300 billion of Russian foreign reserves held abroad. The central bank’s gold was not affected because it is stored in Russia.
For many years the central bank had bought gold mainly domestically from Russian mines and paid in roubles. This made gold one of the few reserves that Russia could still fully access after 2022.
Is Russia selling gold?
Yes. According to the World Gold Council, Russia reduced its gold by around 56 tonnes in 2026 up to the end of August, and it did so in every month. In January and February alone it was around 15 tonnes, the largest reduction since 2002. According to an analysis by the broker XTB, around 6 more tonnes followed in September.
Who is buying the gold is not officially documented. An analyst quoted by Reuters suspects that it went mainly to Russian banks, both on the exchange and over the counter. Gold trading on the Moscow Exchange rose significantly in 2026: in March, 42.6 tonnes were traded there, 14 tonnes of it with physical delivery. Reuters estimated the proceeds of the sales in the first half of the year at around US$5.6 billion.
Russia sells gold reserves from the National Wealth Fund
The National Wealth Fund is Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, managed by the Ministry of Finance. It holds gold in accounts at the central bank. According to Ministry of Finance data, this gold holding fell from 554.9 tonnes in May 2022 to 160.2 tonnes on 1 January 2026. The sharpest declines came in 2023 with 196 tonnes and 2024 with 171 tonnes; in 2025 it was 19 tonnes.
In January 2026, the Ministry of Finance said it sold 5,147.5 kilograms of gold from the fund, with the proceeds going to the state budget. In June 2026, in turn, 5,150.3 kilograms of gold that had previously been bought with budget funds were credited to the fund.
According to a Reuters analysis, the sales from the central bank’s reserves are linked to these operations: the central bank reflects the Ministry of Finance’s transactions with the fund’s assets in its reserves. The background is the budget deficit, which has grown due to high government spending and lower oil and gas revenues.
Special features of the Russian data
Russia reports its gold holdings in millions of fine ounces. The changes in tonnes are derived from the monthly figures. The figures from different sources differ slightly because they use different reference dates.
Whether the central bank is selling on the market or mainly reflecting Ministry of Finance transactions is presented differently in reports. The only certainty is the falling reported holdings.
