Russians are switching to cash, while banks are facing a growing shortage of free money. How dangerous is the situation? And could the authorities decide to freeze deposits?

Russians are switching to cash, while banks are facing a growing shortage of free money. How dangerous is the situation? And could the authorities decide to freeze deposits?

Russians are once again alarmed by rumors of a possible deposit freeze: last week, The Washington Post published a piece with such forecasts. There seems to be plenty of indirect arguments in favor of such a scenario: households and businesses are actively moving their savings “under the mattress,” banks are facing a growing liquidity shortage, and problems in the economy as a whole are deepening. And yet the situation is still far from a catastrophic scenario, economists say. The banking system’s resilience is still substantial, and the outflow of funds into cash is not at a critical level. Nevertheless, the continuation of the war is worsening the risks. What do experts think about the possibility of a deposit freeze? And under what circumstances should people begin to seriously worry about this scenario?

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Meduza

Russians are withdrawing hundreds of billions from their accounts every month. Maybe it’s time for me to do the same? Could deposits be frozen? — Meduza

The volume of cash in Russia continues to grow. Households and businesses have been pulling funds out of banks since the fall of 2024, but the outflow became especially massive in 2026. Since the beginning of the year, the figure has increased by more than 10%, or by 2.8 trillion rubles. And by the end of 2026…