Conquer Club

In Russia, as Prices Soar, the Outlook for Its Economy Grows ‘Especially Gloomy’

May 19, 2022, 3:00 a.m.
Patricia Cohen and Valeriya Safronova

LONDON — After sanctions hobbled production at its assembly plant in Kaliningrad, the Russian automaker Avtotor announced a lottery for free 10-acre plots of land — and the chance to buy seed potatoes — so employees could grow their own food in the westernmost fringe of the Russian empire during “the difficult economic situation.”

In Moscow, shoppers complained that a kilogram of bananas had shot up to 100 rubles from 60, while in Irkutsk, an industrial city in Siberia, the price of tampons at a store doubled to $7.

Banks have shortened receipts in response to a paper shortage. Clothing manufacturers said they were running out of buttons.

“The economic prospects for Russia are especially gloomy,” the Bank of Finland said in an analysis this month. “By initiating a brutal war against Ukraine, Russia has chosen to become much poorer and less influential in economic terms.”

Even the Central Bank of Russia has predicted a staggering inflation rate between 18 and 23 percent this year, and a falloff in total output of as much as 10 percent.

After 3 months of war, life in Russia has profoundly changed

The Associated Press
Mon, May 23, 2022, 3:02 AM

When Vladimir Putin announced the invasion of Ukraine, war seemed far away from Russian territory. Yet within days the conflict came home — not with cruise missiles and mortars but in the form of unprecedented and unexpectedly extensive volleys of sanctions by Western governments and economic punishment by corporations.

Three months after the Feb. 24 invasion, many ordinary Russians are reeling from those blows to their livelihoods and emotions. Moscow’s vast shopping malls have turned into eerie expanses of shuttered storefronts once occupied by Western retailers.

McDonald’s — whose opening in Russia in 1990 was a cultural phenomenon, a shiny modern convenience coming to a dreary country ground down by limited choices — pulled out of Russia entirely in response to its invasion of Ukraine. IKEA, the epitome of affordable modern comforts, suspended operations. Tens of thousands of once-secure jobs are now suddenly in question in a very short time.

Major industrial players including oil giants BP and Shell and automaker Renault walked away, despite their huge investments in Russia. Shell has estimated it will lose about $5 billion by trying to unload its Russian assets.

While the multinationals were leaving, thousands of Russians who had the economic means to do so were also fleeing, frightened by harsh new government moves connected to the war that they saw as a plunge into full totalitarianism. Some young men may have also fled in fear that the Kremlin would impose a mandatory draft to feed its war machine.

But fleeing had become much harder than it once was — the European Union's 27 nations, along with the United States and Canada had banned flights to and from Russia. The Estonian capital of Tallinn, once an easy long-weekend destination 90 minutes by air from Moscow, suddenly took at least 12 hours to reach on a route through Istanbul.

Russian energy-giant Gazprom is set to halt its natural-gas supply to Shell, which supplies fuel to Germany, Europe's largest economy. The move comes after Shell refused to pay Gazprom in rubles. Gazprom made the announcement on Tuesday — the same day it cut off natural-gas supplies to the Netherlands for the same reason.

While Shell has refused to pay Gazprom in rubles, Germany's major natural-gas importers Uniper and DWE have paid for Russian fuel under Moscow's new payment plan, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia- ... ent-2022-6

saxitoxin wrote:Germany just got punished for disobedience.

Russia ordered Royal Dutch Shell to pay for gas in roubles instead of dollars. It refused. Now it gets no more gas. Other companies, however, meekly and obediently did as they were ordered by Moscow.

Russian energy-giant Gazprom is set to halt its natural-gas supply to Shell, which supplies fuel to Germany, Europe's largest economy. The move comes after Shell refused to pay Gazprom in rubles. Gazprom made the announcement on Tuesday — the same day it cut off natural-gas supplies to the Netherlands for the same reason.

While Shell has refused to pay Gazprom in rubles, Germany's major natural-gas importers Uniper and DWE have paid for Russian fuel under Moscow's new payment plan, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

https://www.businessinsider.com/russia- ... ent-2022-6

jusplay4fun wrote:btw: I find it interesting that EU waits until the weather gets warmer to cut off supplies of oil and gas. Good Timing..!

Germany to Stop Russian Oil Imports Regardless of EU Sanctions
Scholz confident exit plan can work despite refinery challenge
EU foreign ministers hope to get Hungary on board on Monday

Germany plans to stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year even if the European Union fails to agree on an EU-wide ban in its next set of sanctions, government officials said.

Efforts to seal deals with alternative suppliers are progressing at the chancellery in Berlin and the government is confident it can solve remaining logistical problems within the next six to seven months, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

With European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss the next round of sanctions, EU diplomats have floated a delay in the phased-in oil ban after Hungary objected, saying the step would be too damaging to its economy.

Germany plans to stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year

saxitoxin wrote:

Germany plans to stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year

Yep. Last week Germany huffed and puffed and said they'd stop importing Russian oil in 7 months to give them enough runway to source new supplies. One week later Russia called their bluff and stopped exporting.

Germany got the bitch slapped outta them!