After falling by just over $100 billion in 2022, data from the Bank of Russia (CBR) released on Friday showed that Russia’s foreign debt continued to decline in the first quarter of 2023.

Over the first three months of 2023, Russia’s foreign debt fell 6.8%, or $25.9 billion, bringing it down to $357.9 billion by the end of the quarter, according to CBR data.

The regulator’s data showed a decline in all of the components of the national debt, from liabilities on foreign securities, to a range of obligations across the various sectors of the Russian economy.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Maxim Osadchy, head of the analytical department at BKF Bank, said, “Russia’s foreign debt reached its historic high on July 1, 2014, at $732.8 billion, then began a relatively steady decline due to [Western] sanctions and the withdrawal of capital by non-residents.”

He noted the debt’s reduction began to accelerate aggressively following the start of the special military operation launched in Ukraine.

Osadchy predicted, “The reduction in Russia’s external debt in the first quarter of 2023 is a continuation of a long-term trend that will undoubtedly continue.”