Interest in gardens and orchards has grown sharply in Russia
After the attack on Ukraine, Russia faced economic problems and sanctions from many countries and international organizations. In Russia itself, the authorities call it an economic war. The Page has prepared a selection of the latest reports on April 19.
Economy
The Moscow Exchange index (MOEX Russia Index), one of the main Russian stock indicators, in the morning of April 19 fell below 2,300 points. This happened for the first time since February 25 under the pressure of sales in anticipation of the West's announcement of a new package of anti-Russian sanctions.
A number of critical sectors of Russian industry, from the automotive industry to pharmaceuticals, are highly dependent on imports. There, the share of foreign value added exceeds 50%, according to a report by the Russian Higher School of Economics. Most of them are imports from those countries that have now joined the sanctions against Russia. It will be difficult to find alternative suppliers quickly, and it will take years to replace components and materials that fall out.
Ozon Marketplace cut some employees after the start of the so-called "special operation". The company urgently needs to cut costs, as it faces bankruptcy in four to five months. Due to sanctions, the marketplace does not have access to foreign capital, and employees are no longer needed to work with some categories of goods.
McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm, has announced that it will stop serving customers in Russia.
Stellantis, formed by the merger of Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France's PSA Group, has announced a shutdown of Russia's largest plant in Kaluga.
The Russian authorities plan to allow the production of cars of ecological class Euro 0. But this measure applies only to large Russian automakers and companies under sanctions.
The manufacturer of household chemicals Henkel (brands Persil, Schwarzkopf, Syoss, Moment, etc.) has announced the cessation of business in Russia. One week ago, the company announced that it would continue production and operations in Russia.
Software developer EPAM Systems has transported its employees from Belarus and Russia to Uzbekistan. The company pays for the flight for the employee and his or her family, accommodation and daily expenses in the first month.
Italian energy company Enel has frozen a 71 MW wind farm project in Tatarstan. The Danish Vestas also refused to implement wind energy projects in Tatarstan.
Sanctions
The New Zealand Foreign Ministry has announced sanctions against 18 Russian banks and financial institutions, including the Central Bank, the Sovereign Wealth Fund, Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, VEB, Alfa-Bank and others.
Washington is working on new sanctions against Russia and plans to release details of the work in the near future, a White House spokeswoman said. Earlier, the US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury said that Washington considers sanctions pressure on the Russian military-industrial complex and disrupting its supply chains to be its immediate task
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that his country does not need Russian gas and France intends to "promote" sanctions against Russian gas.
Society
More than half of Russian nurses acknowledged the lack of imported consumables, and a third noted problems with the supply of domestic consumables. Most often you have to save on imported gloves and catheters.
Sales of residential real estate in major cities in Russia in April fell by half compared to March, market participants said.
Demand for gardening products and cottage houses in March and the first half of April increased on average by three times compared to the same period last year.
Paramount company will stop broadcasting its TV channels in Russia on April 20. In particular, MTV Russia, Paramount Comedy, Nickelodeon and Paramount Channel were broadcast in the country.
Despite the general tendency
Hungary will not join European Union sanctions against Russian oil and gas, Foreign Minister Peter Siarto said. "The Hungarian people cannot pay for this war," he said. The Minister said that Hungary supports a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, supports the territorial integrity of the country, is ready to accept Ukrainian refugees, but the supply of weapons to Ukraine through Hungary will not happen.
The German trade unions called on the authorities to oppose the EU's immediate refusal to import Russian gas, noting that such an embargo would have serious consequences for Germany: "reduced production, closure and further deindustrialization." German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said that "an immediate embargo on gas from Russia would endanger the social world in Germany."
Indian state-owned companies have announced plans to increase oil purchases from Russia. Since the end of February, state-owned refineries have purchased about 15 million barrels of oil from Russia. But even after the increase in oil purchases in Russia, their volume is less than 1% of total oil imports in India.