Photo: RBC
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. The Page has prepared a compilation of the latest posts about this as of April 28th.
Economy
Wintershall Dea, major oil and gas company in Europe and an investor in both Nord Streams, has written off €1.5 billion of assets over the loss of revenue from the Nord Stream 2 project and transactions related to russia. "The era of long-term partnership between Russia and Germany is over. There can be no "business as usual" with russia," the head of the company said. Wintershall Dea is owned by BASF (67%) and russia's LetterOne (owned by Mikhail Fridman, German Khan, and Alexei Kuzmichev).
From May 14, the international hotel operator Hyatt stops the operational management of hotels in russia. It manages six hotels in russia, one of them (in Sochi) has already changed its name.
The U.S. authorities have accedeв to two requests for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the United States. Export permits have been granted to the Golden Pass LNG project, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil, and the Magnolia LNG project, owned by the Glenfarne Group. Now these enterprises will be able to supply LNG to Europe.
The Japanese manufacturer of tobacco products JT Group is considering withdrawing from business in russia. The company previously suspended investments and marketing activities in russia. The international division of the group, Japan Tobacco International (JTI), operates in russia. JTI has four factories. The company is the largest player in the russian tobacco market with a share close to 40%.
The level of real disposable money income of russians in Q1 decreased by 1.2% compared to the same period a year earlier. Prior to that, the well-being of russians had been growing for three quarters.
Half of russian cinemas could close over a "critical lack of repertoire," their owners warned. It is impossible to quickly replace the canceled foreign premieres, and without state support for the industry, by the end of the summer, "there will be no one to save."
The russian market of online cinemas for the first time in its history may show a decline — the revenue of services will decrease by 46%, analysts predict. The suspension of the advertising activity of world brands in Russia and restrictions on foreign films and TV series will lead to the collapse.
The French-American cosmetics company Coty announced suspending its activities in russia. It manufactures and sells products under 80 brands, including Max Factor, Rimmel, and CoverGirl.
Banks have asked the Central Bank to postpone the issuance of new banknotes over the problems with equipment for counting and checking banknotes after the imposition of sanctions. The russian federation planned to update the design of almost all ruble banknotes in the coming years.
Sanctions
The Swiss authorities, following a similar EU decision, impose a ban on the supply of coal, as well as goods that are an important source of income for russia (timber, cement, seafood, and caviar). The export to russia of goods that help to strengthen the russian industrial potential (industrial robots, certain chemical products, etc.) will also be banned. A ban on "any support for russian companies owned or controlled by the state" will come into force. In addition, citizens of the russian federation can no longer register trusts in Switzerland.
In France, the villa of businessman Kirill Shamalov, the ex-husband of Vladimir Putin's daughter Katerina Tikhonova, was arrested. The arrest was also imposed on the villas owned by billionaires Oleg Deripaska and Musa Bazhaev that are located on the Cote d'Azur.
Sanctions against russia related to the embargo on oil and gas should be imposed immediately, the foreign ministers of Lithuania and Spain believe.
The Estonian government has approved amendments to the public procurement law. They allow the implementation of European Union sanctions and prohibit the conclusion of procurement contracts or the continuation of a contract with a person who is a citizen or a resident entrepreneur in the russian federation.
Society
Paramount has suspended broadcasting in Russia of its TV channels VH1 European, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, NickToons, NickToons HD, Nick Jr., MTV HD, MTV Live HD, MTV Rocks, Paramount Channel HD, Paramount Comedy, and Paramount Comedy HD.
Contrary to general trend
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed that his country would use a russian-imposed payment scheme for russian oil and gas. He explained: "85% of our gas, 65% of oil comes from russia. This is determined by the infrastructure. It's not for fun, we didn't choose the situation." Hungary has no alternative sources or routes that would allow it to stop importing russian energy in the next few years.
The organizers of the French Open Tennis Championship (Roland Garros) do not plan to exclude representatives of russia and belarus from participation in the tournament. Thus, they will observe the principle of neutrality and will not follow the example of Wimbledon, where they decided not to allow russians and belarusians to compete. In France, russian and belarusian tennis players will play under a neutral flag, and if they win, the national anthems will not be played.
The minister of industry of the russian federation said that the Chinese company Haval and the Korean Kia and Hyundai continue to manufacture cars in russia, but at a reduced level.