(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – July 3, 2013) The State Duma on Tuesday passed in the third and final reading the long-awaited economic crimes amnesty bill, which will free several thousand businessmen from the nation’s prisons. But despite the fact that the legislation was supported by all of the Duma parties when it was being prepared, only […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – July 2, 2013) The State Duma has approved the nominations of Sergei Stepashin, Tatyana Golikova and Andrei Makarov as candidates to head the Audit Chamber, leaving it up to President Vladimir Putin to choose one of them or award the position to somebody else by October 1, 2013, news reports said Monday. […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Maria Stambler- June 28, 2013) Few doubts exist as to what needs to rank high on Russia’s economic agenda: growth and competitiveness in a healthy and transparent business climate. The ongoing discussions in the government and the business community revolve around how to achieve them. At the annual economic forum in St. Petersburg on June […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Regina Sadykova, special to RBTH – June 28, 2013) By comparison with other European countries, Russia remains attractive as a business and investment destination. The Association of European Business (AEB) in Russia has presented the results of its annual research project “Strategies and Perspectives of European Companies in Russia”carried out in conjunction […]
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(Interfax, MOSCOW, June 28, 2013) Turkey could become the biggest importer of Russian gas before very long, overtaking Germany, Gazprom (RTS: GAZP) CEO Alexei Miller told reporters. “Turkey wants to buy more of our gas as its needs grow and possibly due to a shortfall from other suppliers. The growth could be 20% in the near future on top of […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 27, 2013) Yelena Panfilova, the head of the Russian office of Transparency International, sees President Vladimir Putin’s statement on plans to draw up a national anti-money-laundering plan as a sign of strengthening the Financial Monitoring Agency’s (Rosfinmonitoring) functions. “I believed that Rosfinmonitoring had been the one responsible for answering these problems all these years. Rosfinmonitoring does […]
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MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) – The chronic non-fulfillment of privatization plans in Russia is related not just to the market situation but to lobbying also, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, which discussed a truncated version of the privatization program. “Let’s be honest, this also has something to do with the energy of lobbying by selected […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, special to RBTH – June 26, 2013) The Russian president’s unexpected initiative may set back preparation of the law. The economic amnesty decree is almost ready, according to members of the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly. The State Duma deputies hope to get the bill passed by July 5. Yet, […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 27, 2013) Russian oil giant Rosneft, hydropower holding company RusHydro and the nation’s second-largest lender VTB Bank are among assets that should stay under state control, Economics Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Thursday after presenting the government’s new privatization plan for 2014-2016. “Proceeding from the current state of world markets and problems with the […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris – June 26, 2013) Russia has just hosted its premier investment summit, the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 20-22, which is supposed to showcase the country and attract badly needed foreign investment. Instead, thanks to the Kremlin’s typically moronic handling of its PR, it only managed to make Russia […]
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(RIA Novosti – Simon Saradzhyan – June 25, 2013 – Simon Saradzhyan is a researcher at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center) The recent G-8 summit in Northern Ireland quickly became another reminder that Russia has not quite integrated into what was originally founded as a club comprising the West’s richest liberal democracies. Post-Soviet Russia may boast the world’s sixth largest […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 25, 2013) Russia’s new economic development minister, Alexei Ulyukayev, considers farfetched a contradiction between “modernizers” and “conservatives.” “Sometimes you read about a contradiction between stability and development. There are modernizers, who are for development, and there are conservatives, who are for stability,” Ulyukayev said as he met with ministry staff. “But it doesn’t happen that way. […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 21, 2013) Text of report “Answers to questions from St Petersburg International Economic Forum participants, 21 June 2013, St Petersburg” published in English by Russian presidential website on 24 June; subheadings added editorially: Russia’s priorities in G20 MODERATOR (retranslated): Mr President, the St Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held in your hometown. I would like to […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 26, 2013) A proposed economic amnesty in Russia is expected to release almost 100,000 people from criminal liability, Russia’s business ombudsman Boris Titov said on Wednesday. “Under a previous draft, we counted 13,500 people serving their prison terms on charges covered by the draft amnesty. But we should also not forget about 70,000-80,000 people […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – June 25, 2013) The newly appointed Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Monday that his main task was to prevent a recession, while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the government expected a 400 billion ruble ($12 billion) budget deficit in 2014. Ulyukayev, who served as first deputy chairman of the Central Bank […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 25, 2013) Russia’s Finance Ministry is proposing three maneuvers to balance the federal budget in 2014-2016 – reduce transfers to the Pension Fund of Russia (PFR), cut budget earmarks for government procurements and postpone some spending on the government arms program until after 2016, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters on Monday. “Right now the situation […]
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(RIA Novosti – Howard Amos – ST. PETERSBURG, June 24, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin urged foreign investors to pitch in on several multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects last week, but his audience proved wary, with investors warning that obstacles old and new from lack of predictability to slowing economic growth were likely to deter inflows of new capital […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 25, 2013) The economic amnesty will apply to persons first indicted or convicted of economic crimes. They will be released from custody and their criminal cases probed by investigative authorities and courts will be closed. The rule is established by draft resolutions of the State Duma on the economic amnesty and regulations for the fulfillment of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 24, 2013) Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that there are no plans to devalue the ruble, despite claims he made last Tuesday that a weaker currency could boost revenues and growth. “Devaluation will not be carried out in Russia under any circumstances,” Siluanov said Sunday during an interview with Central Television NTV, adding that […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 24, 2013) The appointment of Alexei Ulyukayev as new Russian economic development minister will not alter the fundamental objectives of economic policy, but could alter the tactics by which those aims are achieved, experts told Interfax. Do jobs change people? Ulyukayev’s appointment in place of Andrei Belousov will not result in major changes in economic policy, […]
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(Interfax – June 21, 2013) The Kremlin is not increasing pressure on the Russian government; President Vladimir Putin is simply changing the principles governing the work of the executive authorities, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has said. Shuvalov was speaking in an interview to internet and satellite broadcaster Dozhd TV on 21 June on the sidelines of the St Petersburg […]
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(Interfax – June 21, 2013) A total of 76 per cent of Russians say they are happy about the life they lead at present, while a mere 8 per cent complain “they still cannot adapt themselves to the current state of affairs”, private-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 19 June, quoting the latest Levada Centre opinion poll. The poll […]
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(Kremlin.ru – St. Petersburg – June 21, 2013) Vladimir Putin and Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel took part in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum’s plenary session. In his address to the plenary session, Mr Putin outlined the global economy’s main problems today, looked at the issues on the G20 agenda under the Russian presidency, and noted Russia’s efforts […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Lena Smirnova – June 21, 2013) With the coveted title of Russia’s biggest shopping mall operator, Ikea Shopping Centres leads in a market that is expected to become Europe’s second largest in the next 18 months. It recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and is making big plans for the future. The milestone closes a decade […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – St. PETERSBURG, June 21, 2013) The government’s initiative to attract 25 billion rubles ($781 million) of investment to the Far East by 2025 will fail if the business climate for private investors does not improve, businessmen and state officials said Thursday at a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum dedicated […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Bratersky – June 21, 2013) Opposition lawmakers and businessmen said at a panel Thursday that Russia had lost billions of dollars due to cuts in import tariffs after its accession to the World Trade Organization. The panel was attended by groups lobbying the interests of the engineering, agriculture and clothing industries but was ignored […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 21, 2013 – themoscowtimes.com/news/article/live-blog-spief-2013-day-2/482039.html) It’s day two of the 17th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the annual conference dedicated to economic and business issues that draws several thousand political and business leaders, leading scientists, and public figures from around the world. President Vladimir Putin will open a plenary session at 3 p.m. that will […]
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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Nathan Gray – ST. PETERSBURG, June 21, 2013) Russia’s government was rushing in where investors feared to tread and used the St. Petersburg Economic Forum as a rallying call for aggressive spending in the country’s regions. Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East have especially attracted attention in recent years in terms of the […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Yekaterina Kravtsova – June 21, 2013) Vladimir Putin took the stage to speak at last year’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as president for a third time, having been inaugurated a month before, but facing perhaps the fiercest political opposition in his 12 years as Russia’s top leader. Despite the ongoing street protests, Putin focused […]
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(Kremlin.ru – St Petersburg, June 20, 2013) The meeting took place on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Excerpts from transcript of meeting with the Business G20 PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Ladies and gentlemen, It’s very good to see you all. I am happy to welcome the B20 participants to St Petersburg, on the first day […]
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(Interfax -ST. PETERSBURG, June 20, 2013) It would be feasible to introduce a progressive income tax scale in Russia in 2018, when the current political cycle ends, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told reporters on the sidelines of the St Petersburg Economic Forum. “It would probably make sense to make the transition to different taxation for personal income from […]
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(RIA Novosti – ST. PETERSBURG, June 20, 2013) The Russian government’s plans to weaken the ruble in a bid to stimulate faltering economic growth is unlikely to yield results, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said on Thursday. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Monday said the government is looking for measures to stimulate economic growth in Russia, including […]
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(Moscow TImes – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – June 20, 2013) St. Petersburg is drawing scores of business leaders to a forum where they are hoping to get the latest tips on the course that the government and major companies might take. Opening Thursday at the exhibition center LenExpo, the three-day event will host President Vladimir Putin for a keynote […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. June 19, 2013) Optimism prevails in Russian society, and 76% are more or less happy with their life. Only 8% have not adjusted to contemporary conditions, Levada Center told Interfax on Wednesday, quoting a nation-wide poll of late May. A quarter of the respondents claimed “their life was stable and there had been no major changes for […]
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(Moscow Times – June 20, 2013 – themoscowtimes.com/news/article/live-blog-spief-2013-day-1/481995.html) The 17th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), set to host several thousand economic experts, business managers and political leaders, opened Thursday morning with the first session at 9:45 a.m. The forum this year focuses on finding ways to build a new global economy. Today’s discussion topics include maintaining the growth in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Guennadi Moukine – June 20, 2013) Hovercraft, bionic arms, space tourism and nuclear laptop batteries may all be products of the future to be created and brought to market by Skolkovo, the business education and technology center taking shape on the outskirts of Moscow. Despite a bumpy start that has included typical Russian corruption scandals, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 19, 2013) The Finance Ministry has proposed using a state guarantee fund to increase support for promising small- and medium-sized businesses, Vedomosti reported Wednesday. The proposals were prepared in response to the order made by President Vladimir Putin a week ago to stimulate business activity. This year the ministry has allocated 20 billion rubles […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 19, 2013) Shell companies have illegally funneled 760 billion rubles ($25 billion) from Russia in the past three years, outgoing Central Bank chief Sergei Ignatyev said on Wednesday, Vedomosti business paper reported. Ignatyev who is leaving his post next week after serving three consecutive terms, made the statement in a report to the Russian parliament […]
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(RIA Novosti – LOUGH ERNE, June 19, 2013) The next G8 summit will take place in the southern Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi in June 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday. “The Group of Eight summit I have invited my counterparts to will be held on June 4-5, 2014, in Sochi,” Putin told journalists after a G8 summit […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 17, 2013) Russia’s privatization plan, which has been very ambitious in the past two years but slow to be implemented, will become more realistic. The government came up with its big plans to divest a number of key assets in the summer of 2011, when current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was still president. Last June the […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 14, 2013) Russia will use its presidency of the G20 to push for a radical overhaul of the International Monetary Fund and changes to its voting system to give developing economies a stronger voice, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in an interview with RIA Novosti. “The IMF frequently fails to keep up with the rapidly […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 17, 2013) Siberia and the Russian Far East are supposed to come up with the money to pay for Vladimir Putin’s promise to develop those regions, an arrangement officials say that in the absence of new revenues they will not be able to do and that is undermining support for Moscow […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – June 17, 2013) The great debate in Russia is if growth has stalled or if the economy is only going through a soft patch at the moment. GDP growth fell to 1.6% in the first quarter (revised up from the initial estimate of 1.1%). But that is still not very good. Industrial production growth […]
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(kremlin.ru – Novo-Ogaryovo, Moscow Region – June 14, 2013) Vladimir Putin met with representatives of the Civil 20, an international forum for dialogue between civil society organisations, politicians and experts from the G20 countries. Taking part in the meeting were delegates to the Civil 20 summit, taking place in Moscow on June 13-14, from Russia, Mexico, and Australia, the three […]
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(Kremlin.ru – June 14, 2013) Ahead of the G8 summit in Great Britain and the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Vladimir Putin answered questions from Russian News & Information Agency. QUESTION: You are going to the G8 summit not only as the head of one of the member states, but also as the leader of the country that currently […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. June 14, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the upcoming G8 summit, presidential aide Yury Ushakov said. On Monday, June 17, before the official start of the summit, Putin is expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, he said. “They plan to discuss a schedule […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 14, 2013) The consumer confidence level of Ivan Ivanov, the typical Russian modeled in the latest bi-monthly report by Sberbank CIB issued Friday, has, like inflation and unemployment, remained stable over the last two months. While the headline consumer confidence figure remains at the March level of -8 percent down from -4 percent […]
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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 14, 2013) President Vladimir Putin on Thursday described the main difference he sees between social welfare in Russia and in European countries, which he criticized for losing control of their economies and allowing the rise of a “dependency mentality,” according to an interview with RIA Novosti. Europe’s problem is not the welfare state as […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm, opinion page editor of The Moscow Times – June 14, 2013) When the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opens next week, a traditional fixture of the event will be conspicuously absent: renowned economist Sergei Guriev. During the forum, Russian officials will undoubtedly repeat the usual lines about the country’s untapped potential, its attractiveness […]
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(Kremlin.ru – The Kremlin, Moscow – June 13, 2013) Vladimir Putin announced the signing of the 2014-2016 Budget Policy Address at a meeting with members of the Government Cabinet, heads of both houses of the Federal Assembly and the Presidential Executive Office. The address outlines the basic budget policy objectives over the next three years. The Government will use the […]
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