Chronicle of world's economic war against Russia: gas production will fall by 17% by the end of the year

Author

Valery Moiseev

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. has prepared a selection of the latest reports on April 27.

Economy

The Russian government discussed the forecast of the country's economic downturn after sanctions and decided to update it. According to the previous version of the Ministry of Economic Development, Russia's GDP will fall by 8.8% this year, but next year it is expected to grow. However, the Ministry of Finance considers such a forecast overly optimistic.

The Ministry of Economy forecasts a 17% reduction in Russian gas production to 702.4 — 720.9 billion cubic meters in 2022 and up to 669 — 720 billion cubic meters in 2023.

Exports of Russian pipeline gas could fall by 10% in the base case — up to 185 billion cubic meters, and in the conservative variant could fall by 20%, up to 165 billion cubic meters.

Renault has found new owners for its assets in Russia. The company will transfer its share in AvtoVAZ to the NAMI institute which is located in Moscow. And the share in the Avtoframos car plant will go to the Moscow government. The transfer of AvtoVAZ assets will be formalized as a "ruble agreement" with the right of redemption for up to 5-6 years.

French company Schneider Electric has announced plans to sell its assets in Russia to a local investor.

In a few days German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck will announce the launch of four floating LNG terminals (FSRU). They will be installed off the coast of Germany in the North and Baltic Seas. These RWE and Uniper projects will be operational next year. They will increase gas supplies as an alternative to Russia. FSRUs will be temporary solutions, later they will be replaced by fixed terminals.

The Federal Penitentiary Service may allow the involvement of IT specialists serving sentences to work for private companies. The IT industry faced a shortage of personnel, it currently needs about one million specialists.

Sanctions

As the head of the European Commission said, the European Union is preparing a response to the termination of gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria by Gazprom. She called the use of gas a "blackmail tool" and "unjustified and unacceptable." The Deputy Prime Minister of Britain accused Russia of "bullying" and promised that the Kingdom would stand "shoulder to shoulder" with Warsaw and Sofia.

Austrian Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that the agreement of the Austrian company OMV to pay for gas supplies in rubles is a "fake of Russian propaganda." Settlements will continue in euros. The necessary amounts will be transferred to an account of Gazprombank, which will be able to manage the money at its own discretion.

Poland called on the EU to allow the seizure of the assets of the Bank of Russia and the oligarchs in favor of Ukraine. For confiscation, Europe can apply Italian laws against the mafia. US senators also suggested using frozen Russian assets to restore Ukraine, and Canada plans to seize the funds of sanctioned Russians to pay compensation to victims of the "special operation. "

Society

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands suspends the issuance of short-stay visas to Russian citizens from April 27. At the same time, Russians can still apply for humanitarian visas.

The International Ice Hockey Federation has revoked Russia's right to host the next World Championship. The tournament was to be held in St. Petersburg from May 5 to May 21, 2023.

In March-April, the flow of tourists from the Russian Federation, who prefer to fly on vacation in business class and stay in five-star hotels, decreased by more than three times compared to the same period in 2021. Operators note an increase in demand for premium hotels in Russia, but only by 20-30%.

Russia will leave the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) within a year. The organization stated that the suspension of Russia's membership in the UNWTO "takes effect immediately." Previously, such a suspension was demanded by a number of countries. Russia did not wait until she was expelled, and she herself announced her resignation. Previously, such a suspension was demanded by a number of countries. Russia decided not to wait until this move and announced its resignation by itself.