Economy

High interest rates could trigger wave of bankruptcies, says think tank linked to defense minister Paid Members Public
The Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting—which has deep connections to Defense Minister Andrei Belousov—has predicted a wave of bankruptcies if high interest rates stay in place. Alongside arms manufacturers and big businesses, the think tank is one of the main lobbyists calling for lower borrowing costs.

How a billionaire Armenian separatist leader, now on trial in Azerbaijan, made his fortune in Russia Paid Members Public
Some 18 months after regaining control over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Azerbaijan has begun putting the former leaders of the breakaway pro-Armenian republic on trial. The most high-profile among them is Ruben Vardanyan, an investment banker who managed the finances of the Russian elite before giving it all up in an

‘Silent’ tech layoffs despite massive labour shortages Paid Members Public
As the year comes to an end, Russian companies are laying off IT staff. Back in 2022, the government and employers were bending over backwards to keep them in the country, offering exemption from military service, preferential mortgages and pay rises. But two-decade-high interest rates are taking a toll: despite

Ruble stabilizes after latest sanctions slump Paid Members Public
The ruble has recovered from a sudden devaluation last month, which was largely tied to liquidity problems in the wake of US sanctions against dozens of Russian banks — chiefly Gazprombank. The value of the currency against both the dollar and the yuan, on various measures, had reached its worst level

New U.S. sanctions push the ruble to its lowest since spring 2022 Paid Members Public
The United States has imposed the most wide-reaching range of banking sanctions on Russia since spring 2022 (read more here), hitting leading state institution Gazprombank, which had remained connected to SWIFT and conducted settlements in euros. The fallout of the potential disruption on Russia’s energy trade pushed the ruble

Russia’s authorities squeeze exiled critics’ income Paid Members Public
The authorities are looking to strip income for Russians who criticize the Ukraine invasion from abroad. For celebrities and artists, that means no more royalty payments, while for others it could mean halting any income they get from renting out property. * Many prominent Russian artists who left the country after

Can we trust Russian economic statistics? Paid Members Public
Since the start of the war, the Russian authorities have classified heaps of important statistical and economic data. For the third year in a row, Moscow is not publishing figures on imports, exports, foreign trade, gold and foreign exchange reserves, or oil production. But can the data that Moscow still

The Central Bank readies another rate hike Paid Members Public
There is little doubt that the central bank is gearing up to raise its key interest rate in its next meeting on Friday. Currently set at 19%, it’s expected to be hiked to 20-21% — matching or surpassing the emergency interest rate introduced days after Russia invaded Ukraine. This time