Russia's Finance Ministry has begun paying some employees' salaries in digital rubles, marking the first use of the central bank digital currency for government payroll. The ministry did not disclose the number of participating staff or the total amount distributed in this initial rollout. The salary payments follow a successful pilot earlier this year that disbursed approximately 16 million digital rubles ($192,245) as part of 2025 federal budget expenditures. The Finance Ministry is now applying this established payment channel to its internal payroll processes while working with Russia's central bank to further integrate the digital ruble into broader budget payment systems.