Chronicle of world's economic war against Russia: $39 billion in assets frozen in Europe

Author

Valery Moiseev

After attacking Ukraine, Russia has faced economic problems and sanctions from a lot of countries and international organizations. In the Russian Federation itself, the authorities call it an economic war. has prepared a compilation of the latest posts about this as of April 23.

Economy

Renault is selling its stake in AvtoVAZ. The share of the French is 67%. Already in May, the French company will relocate most of the foreign management staff from Togliatti to Moscow.

The Dutch government has announced plans to abandon Russian oil, gas and coal by the end of this year. The country's authorities intend to focus on energy savings, sustainable energy and an increase in gas imports from other countries.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared a list of goods that can be imported into Russia without the permission of the right holders (parallel import). The list includes Tesla, Land Rover, Jeep, and Bentley cars, Apple, Samsung, and Sony equipment, clothes, shoes and other products.

Telecom operators are asking owners of shopping centers to reduce rental prices. If this is not done, the cellphone stores will close, they warn.

The Board of Directors of WPP, the largest international holding in the field of communications and advertising, has decided to stop its activities in the Russian Federation.

U.S. float glass maker Guardian Industries is withdrawing from Russian assets due to "circumstances."

Sanctions

The Russian Federation firmly holds the world leadership in the number of sanctions imposed against one country — 9,741 as of April 22. Other countries combined (Iran, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Cuba) have got 9,670 restrictions over decades of isolation.

The European Union has frozen assets worth 35 billion euros ($39 billion) in response to a Russian "special operation" in Ukraine. France is in the lead — it froze assets worth 23.5 billion euros. The main part of this amount — 22.8 billion euros — is the funds of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

The sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia may be submitted to countries for consideration early next week. It may include a partial ban on oil imports and the disconnection of a number of banks from SWIFT. Measures against oil imports are likely to vary depending on the type of oil and whether it is delivered by sea or by pipeline. The possibility of introducing a transition period to give the EU countries time to prepare is also discussed.

Sovcombank, which was strictly sanctioned by the U.S., has found a way to pay off Eurobond holders. It proposes to exchange old Eurobonds for new Russian bonds and get payments in Russia, bypassing the international payment infrastructure.

An immediate waiver of Russian gas will cost Germany 180 billion euros of lost GDP this year, the Bundesbank has calculated. If the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate and an embargo is imposed on the import of Russian energy resources, Germany's GDP will decrease by 2%.

The United States may impose sanctions against billionaire Roman Abramovich. According to Bloomberg, White House advisers have stepped up pressure on the U.S. administration, as Abramovich's participation in negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv did not produce visible results. Earlier, sanctions against Abramovich were imposed by the EU and the UK.

Greece released the Russian tanker Pegas, which was detained near the island of Euboea in mid-April. This happened after presenting documents that showed that the ship was owned by a company that was not sanctioned by the EU.

The IMF estimated the period during which Europe could do without Russian gas — six months.

Society

The administration of the RF President recommended introducing the institute of deputy heads for information and political work (deputy commanders for political affairs) in ministries and state-owned companies.

The opera music festival in the Swiss city of St. Gallen excluded Tchaikovsky's opera The Maid of Orleans from the program over the war unleashed by Russia in Ukraine. "Even if the theme of this piece is completely French, we cannot justify the performance in the public space of a Russian piece with music based on armed hostilities," the organizers said in a statement.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi spoke out against the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players in the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome. Tournament organizers are assessing the consequences of such a step, since the tournament in Rome, unlike Wimbledon, is held directly under the patronage of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) that opposes such restrictions for tennis players.

The Rugby Federation World Rugby Union suspended the Russian Federation from participation in all international and cross-border competitions.

Contrary to general trend

The Malaysian authorities may consider Russia's request for the supply of semiconductors and electronics to Russia. Malaysia is one of the largest exporters of semiconductors, the annual volume of their supplies is estimated at $8.7 billion. The electronics sector forms about 6% of the country's GDP.