Russia is slashing budget expenditure by 10 per cent as it scrambles to cope with lower revenues following the latest big drop in oil prices. Ministries and other government departments have until Friday to formulate plans for cuts that must total Rbs700bn ($9.1bn), according to three cabinet officials. The amendments mark the second straight year that sliding crude prices have forced Russia to redraft its budget, underscoring the country’s dependency on commodity exports to keep its economy afloat. The government decided on the 10 percent cuts at a meeting called by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the end of December when Brent crude sold for $37 a barrel. Since then, prices have fallen another 20 per cent, hitting $30.43 on Monday — the lowest since April 2004 — before recovering a little to $31.46 on Tuesday. Despite long-running pledges by the government to diversify the economy, oil revenues continue to account for more than half of Russian budget revenues. The budget for 2016 had been laid out for a 3 per cent deficit based on the assumption of an average crude price of $50.