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New sanction worries PRO Members Public
Lukoil’s difficulty in disposing of its foreign assets has captured global headlines, but it is far from the only sign that sanctions are causing more and more problems in the Russian economy. The issues are evident in several other places as well. * Lukoil asked the US Treasury Department to
Tax reforms eased for small business PRO Members Public
The government is easing the terms of one aspect of its tax crackdown announced earlier this fall — the legislation that would force small businesses to pay 22% VAT after their revenue passes 10 million rubles (about $125,000). * Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced the easing of the reforms at a
Is Russia’s labor market cooling? PRO Members Public
Russia has recorded its first rise in unemployment since February, climbing from a record low of 2.1% to 2.2% in September. * Super-low unemployment, which Vladimir Putin loves to hail as an example of Russia’s economic success, is a sign of the on-going overheating in the labor market.
Central Bank in no rush to cut rates PRO Members Public
As we predicted, the Central Bank is not eager to slash interest rates. On Friday, it reduced its base rate by just 50 basis points to 16.5%. This sent a clear signal that its monetary policy will continue to be very cautious, while leaving it some room for maneuver
Sanctions split PRO Members Public
Europe and the US are still moving in different directions over sanctions. This week Britain greatly expanded its sanctions list to include major Russian oil companies. But the practical effect may be limited unless other countries join in. Meanwhile, after speaking with Putin over the phone, President Donald Trump said
Europe without Russian gas PRO Members Public
The EU has taken another technical step towards completely phasing out Russian oil and gas by 2028, with EU ambassadors formally submitting the proposal to member states for consideration, Reuters reported. The details should be resolved at a ministerial meeting before the Oct. 20 vote. * The big news is that
Slaughtering a sacred cow: How the IT-sector lost its tax breaks PRO Members Public
To top up the budget, the government decided not only to hike VAT and taxes on small and medium businesses. For the first time, it is trimming its system of support for the IT industry, one of the few sectors regarded as strategically important and that has long enjoyed a
Derk Sauer, founder of Vedomosti and The Moscow Times, dies PRO Members Public
Derk Sauer, the Dutch media manager, who spearheaded independent media in Russia, has died at the age of 72. Sauer arrived in Russia in the dying days of the Soviet Union, and in the 1990s became renowned as one of the founding fathers of the post-Soviet media market. He created
Internet outages and airport disruption threaten Putin’s deal with Russia’s middle classes PRO Members Public
While Russians living in Moscow and other cities away from the border have suffered nothing like the kind of deadly attacks Ukrainians in Kyiv have been put through — with Vladimir Putin deploying hundreds of drones and missiles in escalating nightly barrages — the cost of the war is starting to become
Russia legalizes the Taliban PRO Members Public
The Taliban, banned as a “terrorist organization” in Russia for more than 20 years, has been legalized and had the label expunged by Russia’s Supreme Court, in another sign of warming ties between Russia and the Islamist group. The development is not surprising. Over recent years, the Russian authorities
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