Russia to sell 30.4% state stake in Sheremetyevo Airport as finances come under pressure
Vladimir Putin has cleared the sale of the government's 30.4% stake in Sheremetyevo, Russia's largest airport, as Moscow seeks to bolster state finances strained by the war, Reuters reported on Aug. 7.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has authorized the sale of the government's 30.4% stake in Sheremetyevo Airport, the nation's largest airport, amid financial pressures caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to Reuters on August 7. Putin signed a decree on August 6 that removed Sheremetyevo from the list of strategic enterprises, though the state will retain a controlling golden share to veto unfavorable management decisions.
The decree bans foreign buyers from purchasing the stake and mandates that the buyer maintains the airport's core operations and modernization efforts. Russia's state budget is facing significant challenges due to the four and a half-year war in Ukraine; its federal deficit could surpass initial projections by over 1 trillion rubles ($12.85 billion) in 2026, Reuters reported.
In the first half of the year, the deficit reached 5.73 trillion rubles ($69.6 billion), or 2.5% of GDP, which is 1.7 times higher than in the same period in 2025. Sheremetyevo Holding, which owns a 66% stake in the airport, has its ultimate owners undisclosed; previously, the airport was managed by firms controlled by close Putin ally Arkady Rotenberg and his associates.
Sheremetyevo, capable of handling up to 87 million passengers annually, served 43.5 million passengers in 2025. Despite Western sanctions and flight restrictions, Russian airports remain profitable due to growing domestic passenger traffic and flights to friendly countries like Turkey, Egypt, and Vietnam. In January 2026, Sheremetyevo acquired full ownership of Domodedovo Airport through an auction for 66 billion rubles.
Domodedovo, nationalized in 2025, handles approximately 15 million passengers each year. Moscow Oblast Arbitration Court granted the Prosecutor General's Office's lawsuit on June 17, 2025, transferring DME Holding, which owns Domodedovo's key assets, to the state.
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