While the West was counting on sanctions to choke the Russian economy, Moscow was quietly digging - literally. In 2024 Russia produced about 330 tonnes of gold and climbed to second place in the world, right behind China. And for 2025, the Russian authorities claim output has jumped to between 480 and 485 tonnes. If it's true, that's almost 50 percent more in a single year.

The number is no accident. When a country can't freely trade in the dollar and the euro, gold becomes the one reserve nobody can freeze with a signature. So Moscow doesn't spend - it stockpiles.

In 2024 alone, 229 new gold deposits were discovered in Russia, the most in years. One of them, the Antichko deposit in the Magadan region, is estimated to hold around 104 tonnes of gold. The Kremlin claims total confirmed reserves already exceed 16,745 tonnes, with an additional 3,500 tonnes deliberately kept off the main balance sheet.

Western analysts don't buy every Russian figure. The consultancy „Metals Focus” estimates that real output for 2025 is closer to 345 tonnes, not nearly half a million. The doubt is well founded - Moscow has a habit of inflating its data when it wants to send a message. But even the lower estimate keeps Russia among the top three producers on the planet.

The logic behind all this is cold and calculated: gold reserves have grown by around 4,560 tonnes over a five-year period. This is not a trading strategy - it is preparation for a world in which your paper money can be blocked overnight.

And here comes the question that cuts to all of us in the Balkans. If the biggest players are hoarding gold as insurance against sanctions and financial blows, what are small economies like ours doing? We keep our reserves in the very currencies the big ones are avoiding. When the elephant plays with gold, the mouse should at least mind where it keeps its money.