Russia's prime minister has warned against "populism" in budget planning, and the allure of printing more rubles to cover the country's persistent economic problems.
In an article published on September 22 in the government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Dmitry Medvedev promised to keep a tight budget without ignoring social demands, or security needs.
The article was published just four days after the country held national parliamentary elections that gave the ruling United Russia party an even stronger position in parliament.
"We cannot allow populism...especially in the budget," Medvedev wrote in the article.
Russia continues to reel from a sharp drop in world oil prices, as well as Western sanctions for its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and the insurgency it backs in eastern Ukraine.
Some factions in Russia's government have pushed to continue aggressive spending on military and security budgets as the country flexes its foreign-policy muscles.
Other factions have lobbied for more spending on things like public-sector salaries and pensions for retirees.
Russia's economy is forecast to contract 0.5 percent this year.
