Russia’s finance ministry is thinking about buying more rough diamonds from Alrosa, the country’s biggest diamond mining company. This comes after Alrosa’s sales dropped by 42% in the first part of 2025, down to $709 million. The main reasons for this drop are Western sanctions, less demand for natural diamonds, and more people buying lab-grown diamonds instead.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the government might buy Alrosa’s unsold diamonds for Gokhran, which is Russia’s state treasure of precious metals and gems. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this-Russia has bought diamonds from Alrosa before to help the company during tough times.

Alrosa’s sales have fallen sharply from $1.15 billion in Q1 2021, before the Ukraine conflict triggered sweeping G7 and EU sanctions. The company has responded by suspending operations at less profitable deposits and planning staff cuts as inventories and debt rise. Government support through Gokhran purchases could help stabilize the miner as market challenges persist.Because of these problems, Alrosa has also had to pause work at some of its less profitable mines and plans to reduce staff. Government support by buying diamonds could help Alrosa survive while the diamond market is struggling