(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 15, 2013) President Vladimir Putin has submitted to the State Duma a bill that would restore the right of investigators to open tax fraud cases without a request from the tax authorities a move that critics fear could lead to a renewed persecution of business executives, a news report said Tuesday. If approved, […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, October 14, 2013) Using reserve funds to support major investment projects and small and medium businesses can accelerate economic growth slightly for a few months, but an innovative model of growth needs to be implemented in the long-term, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said at a briefing for the upcoming Open Innovations international forum in Moscow. The […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Jeremy Hodges – October 14, 2013) Hermitage Capital Management founder William Browder won the dismissal of a U.K. libel case filed by a former Russian policeman accused of playing a part in the 2009 death of legal and tax adviser Sergei Magnitsky. Judge Peregrine Simon ruled that the U.K. wasn’t the right jurisdiction for the ex-policeman, […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov & Henry Meyer – October 11, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s human rights adviser urged prosecutors to drop piracy charges against Greenpeace activists for an Arctic protest, saying it’s as stupid as accusing them of raping the oil platform they scaled. “These charges are laughable because there isn’t the slightest justification for accusing the crew […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – October 11, 2013) At first, Sochi’s Fisht Olympic Stadium was meant to resemble a giant snowflake, a symbol of cold weather to balance out the city’s palm trees and beaches for the Winter Games. Then, the design morphed into two parallel mounds of snow, opened down the middle to present views of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 10, 2013) The ownership of about 40 percent of all real estate properties in Russia is a complete mystery to the government, the Federal Tax Service said, creating a massive blind spot that could obstruct the Finance Ministry’s proposal to bring in a tax on real estate, a news report said Thursday. The problem […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – October 9, 2013) Most Russians do not believe in Russia’s future as a leading hi-tech exporter, a Debate Night this week at Moscow’s Technopolis revealed. The fact that Russia currently accounts for 26 percent of the world’s high-tech exports was no deterrent to this week’s Debate Night at Moscow’s […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – October 3, 2013) The Cabinet on Thursday discussed moves to back small and medium-sized businesses with greater access to loans and state contracts as a way to spur the flagging economy. “We must make a serious breakthrough in the field of investment, the field of labor productivity, the field of diversification of […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Artem Zagorodnov in Moscow – October 3, 2013) One of Vladimir Putin’s first acts on being inaugurated president on May 7, 2012 concerned launching a series of “road maps” to improve Russia’s position in the World Bank’s “Doing Business” survey from 118th place to 50th by 2015 and 20th by 2018, by slashing bureaucracy […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – October 3, 2013) The worst of the economic crisis is over and the economy is under control, but it is time to steer the economy back into growth mode, President Vladimir Putin said at an investment forum Wednesday. He was speaking at the Russia Calling! VTB Capital event in Moscow, where he […]
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(Kremlin.ru – Moscow – October 2, 2013) Vladimir Putin took part in the fifth annual “Russia Calling!” Investment Forum, organised by VTB Capital. The theme of this year’s forum is New Horizons for Growth: How to Reach Them. The “Russia Calling!” Investment Forum provides a platform for developing dialogue between Russian business and the international investment community. Prominent political and […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Natalia Orlova, Chief Economist at Alfa Bank in Moscow, special to RBTH – October 1, 2013) How Russia’s macroeconomics indicate it’s a booming consumer, not oil, economy. Although Russian economic growth slowed to a mere 1.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2013, the domestic consumer trend remains solid. Russia’s current economic […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Alexander Ivlev, special to RBTH – September 30, 2013) EY’s country managing partner on how Russia took 1st place among the G20 countries for coordinated business support and why it’s easier to file taxes here than in the U.S. There is a growing recognition among the G20 countries of the invaluable role played […]
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(Government.ru – Sochi, Krasnodar Territory, September 28, 2013) Anna Schneider: Good afternoon, Mr Medvedev. Thank you for finding the time to come here. Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon. Anna Schneider: The forum is about to complete its work. What results have been achieved? What are your personal impressions? How is this year’s forum different from the previous ones in terms of […]
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(Government.ru – Dmitry Medvedev – September 27, 2013) [English translation of commentary published in Vedomosti, September 27, 2013] 1. The beginning Five years ago it became obvious that a global economic catastrophe was beginning. I remember very well the first G20 anti-crisis summit meeting in Washington and the views which I and the majority of my colleagues expressed there. From […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – By Anatoly Medetsky – September 28, 2013) Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned Friday that the economy had fallen on hard times and identified the private sector as the engine for future growth. Medvedev made what was one of the key political statements of his premiership at the annual International Investment Forum in Sochi after numerous […]
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(Government.ru – Sochi, Krasnodar Territory – September 27, 2013) The main focus of the forum is economic growth and quality of life, including foreign direct investment, comprehensive regional development and expansion of transport infrastructure through private investment. The participants also discussed social issues, including healthcare, participation of private medical organisations in the mandatory medical insurance system, social development policies for […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – September 25, 2013) Russia leapt 10 places in the latest “Economic Freedom of the World” report, released in September by Canada’s Fraser Institute, to 101st place largely thanks to its financial reforms. The US fell 13 spots, largely because of its financial mess. The Kremlin is regularly lambasted for […]
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(Interfax – September 25, 2013) The Russian government plans to actively promote production of hydrocarbons and the development of LNG projects, and the country aims to have a 20 percent share of the world liquefied natural gas (LNG) market by 2030, Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov said at the Sakhalin Oil and Gas 2013 conference. “The Russian Federation is currently […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 24, 2013) EBRD president Suma Chakrabarti acknowledged Tuesday that Russia’s sputtering economy combined with deeply ingrained problems such as corruption and a weak court system were deterring both foreign and domestic investors. But he insisted that the opportunities continued to far outweigh the risks and said the Russian authorities were taking much-needed steps to […]
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(RIA Novosti – Karin Zeitvogel – WASHINGTON, September 18, 2013) Russia has climbed 10 places since 1995 in a global ranking of economic freedom, while the United States has fallen 13 spots over the same period, according to a report from a Canadian public policy think-tank released Wednesday. Russia ranked 101st out of 151 nations, up 10 places from […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 19, 2013 – Alexander Panin) The top 25 of the ranking of Russia’s top executives published Wednesday for the first time in its 14-year history had three new names that were not associated with state companies or traditional resource-oriented industries. The Top 1000 Business Leaders ranking, prepared by the Russian Managers Association, is based […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – September 19, 2013) Russian consumers have more interest and demand for environmentally friendly packaging than their counterparts in some developed countries, but still are ranked at the bottom among 11 large consumer markets in terms of actual recycling activity, according to a study that global packaging giant Tetra Pak released this week. […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, September 18, 2013) Russia’s business ombudsman proposed on Tuesday that the country’s authorities should declare amnesty for illegal migrants to help both the foreign workers and their employers. Ombudsman Boris Titov, who helped put forward amnesty for Russians jailed on economic charges, wrote a column saying that business in the country needed a considerable inflow of […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. September 17, 2013) Over 500 people have been pardoned under the economic amnesty declared in July 2013 by the Russian State Duma, the office of Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov said. “As of September 16, the number of individuals, to whom the State Duma’s decree On Declaring Amnesty from July 2, 2012 was applied, is 525 people,” […]
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(Howard Amos, RIA Novosti – VALDAI, September 16, 2013) Russian officials, opposition leaders and pundits wrestled on Monday with the disjuncture between the country’s capital and its far-flung provinces at an international conference, where two erstwhile political rivals from the mineral-rich Urals region surprised observers by publicly settling their differences. The newly elected mayor of Yekaterinburg and outspoken Kremlin […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Tatyana Lisina, special to RBTH – September 12, 2013) Cartels have appeared in nearly every sector of the Russian economy. The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia has detected or suspects price-fixing agreements in sectors ranging from the fishing, alcohol and meat industries, to medical care, transportation and notary services. Over the last 15 […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Artem Zagorodnov, RBTH – September 16, 2013) The fight against graft has emerged as a rallying cry for Russia’s nascent opposition, yielding victories in local elections. The Kremlin agrees with its critics about the problem. Analysts hope the business climate stands to benefit. Dmitry Bykov, the charismatic Russian TV host-turned-opposition leader, stepped to […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, September 12, 2013) Business ombudsman Boris Titov believes the issue of criminal prosecution of businessmen is blown out of proportion, although law enforcement agencies are frequently biased against businessmen. “Statements made in the press sometimes blow the issue out of proportion. Statistically, it’s not 300,000 people who have been prosecuted. A little more than 13,000 people, including […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 13, 2013) Rosneft president and Kremlin insider Igor Sechin is facing accusations of corporate misconduct that could be reviewed by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, or RSPP, within a week, a news report said Friday. Gennady Osorgin, a minority shareholder in the Rosneft-owned TNK-BP Holding, sent a complaint regarding Sechin to RSPP’s […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – September 4, 2013) Faced with state interference and a too-heavy focus on military production, Russia’s aircraft manufacturing industry stands at a crossroads, when competitiveness can either be regained after its Soviet heyday or lost. This is the conclusion of a report by the analytical firm Strategy Partners Group, released ahead of last week’s MAKS airshow […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Vladimir Goryachev and Oleg Sukhov – September 3, 2013) Mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny has voiced support for an economic amnesty and a windfall tax on some privatized assets at a high-profile meeting with businessmen and top executives, Vedomosti reported. The event was the first public meeting with entrepreneurs during Navalny’s campaign, with the previous ones […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 29, 2013) Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, has proposed introducing a broader amnesty for economic crimes in addition to the one that began in July, Kommersant reported Wednesday. He said the amnesty should be prepared for the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution in December. Fedotov said the first […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 28, 2013) The Russian Foreign Ministry warned Tuesday that detention of the chief executive of potash giant Uralkali in Minsk could cause Moscow’s relations with Belarus to deteriorate as the conflict takes on political overtones. Putting Vladislav Baumgertner in a pretrial detention facility is “unacceptable” and “doesn’t comply with friendly relations […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – August 26, 2013) A third of Russians think raising children gets in the way of having a successful career. People younger than 24 years of age are putting career before family, a poll by major recruiting web portal Superjob showed. Experts are not surprised and believe the trend is […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – August 22, 2013) Small business representatives called for equality before the law and less interference from the government, sharing their concerns with Moscow mayoral candidate teams at a round-table discussion organized by the For an Honest Market movement Wednesday. The meeting was attended by mayoral candidate Sergei Mitrokhin of the liberal Yabloko […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Irina Filatova – August 19, 2013) President Vladimir Putin’s calls for domestic companies to repatriate their funds back home from offshore jurisdictions have fallen on deaf ears, with almost half of the $67 billion investment by Russian residents abroad in the first quarter of this year settling in the British Virgin Islands, according to figures […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anna Lisovets, special to RBTH – August 14, 2013) Russian markets have plenty to offer to their customers – fresh produce, variety and encounters with different cultures. RBTH presents this essential guide to help you navigate the best marketplaces in Moscow. The markets of Moscow have recently become a familiar topic for discussion […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, Aug 14, 2013) The number of convicts who have walked free under the so-called economic amnesty has now exceeded seventy, the press service for the Federal Service on the Enforcement of Punishments has reported. “Seven people who served their sentences in correctional establishments and 35 people registered with criminal enforcement inspectorates have been released under a decree […]
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(RIA Novosti – WASHINGTON, August 13, 2013) Online U.S. retail behemoth Amazon is embarking on a “massive” expansion in the Russian books market and has already begun signing contracts with Russia’s largest publishing houses, a publishing industry website has reported. The Seattle-based firm has already signed an agreement with Rosman, one of Russia’s biggest publishers of children’s titles, for […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Kirill Rudenko, RBTH – August 13, 2013) Over the 11 years during which the World Bank has compiled its Doing Business ratings, Russia has never been named among the 100 countries with favorable conditions for small and medium-sized businesses. Federal agencies and the Moscow government are now determined to change this. In mid-July […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 7, 2013) A group of 37 CEOs and entrepreneurs from Russian internet companies and start-up businesses have announced their backing for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s bid to become mayor of Moscow, in a rare intervention in favor of opposition politics by Russian business. Their support for Navalny at the upcoming election, at which he […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm, Opinion Page Editor – August 2, 2013) Russians have had trouble shaking off one stereotype for centuries: razgildyaistvo, or negligence and carelessness. Razgildyaistvo, some say, is as Russian as long, cold winters a Russian institution of its own making. How accurate is this stereotype? Prominent historian and journalist Leonid Mlechin perhaps put […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, August 2. 2013) The Russian government appeared to renew its support for the Skolkovo innovation hub Thursday as Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told the Cabinet that the embattled project would be included in a state program and receive 502 billion rubles ($15.2 billion) of funding through 2020. The brainchild of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Maria Shpigel, special to RBTH – July 30, 2013) Against the background of crises in the developed economies, Russia, with its high oil revenues, looks promising for the development of the services sector. The majority of micro and small enterprises operate in the services sector, because it is here that the cost of […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 27, 2013) Opacity of the Russian judicial system and corruption may influence investors’ decisions to enter the Russian market, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) President Henri Malosse said. “Today investors indeed may feel some trepidation for reasons that are linked to the reliability of the Russian judicial system, as well as for reasons of corruption,” […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – July 25, 2013) Despite its image as a den of high tech thieves international credit card company VISA reports that fraud in Russia is 10-times less than in its other markets. The company said that card fraud in Russia costs it 5 kopecks per 1,000 annually, a tenth of the company’s global average, VISA […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 25, 2013) Competition in the Russian economy is still weak, which is hindering the development of small and medium-sized businesses in the country, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday. “Our anti-monopoly legislation is quite strict, while competition is still weak,” Medvedev told a government meeting. The prime minister said problems remain on raw material […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Maria Balyuk, special to RBTH – July 22, 2013) In 2012, the McDonald’s fast food restaurant chain increased its sales in Russia by 19.6 percent, SPARK-Interfax reported. Although growing costs prevented the burger chain from scoring a more successful year than 2011, McDonald’s has remained one of the most successful restaurant operators in […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Witold Jancszys, special to RBTH – July 23, 2013) The business landscape in Russia has changed in the last decade and, now, more and more foreign nationals are starting businesses in the country, attracted to the opportunities for growth and space for new ideas in the Russian market. Foreign entrepreneurs doing business in […]
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