April 2, 2022 Socio-Economic Situation in the rf. Sanctions in Action

RF

The United States has imposed new sanctions on russia's technology industry. In particular, this applies to companies that manufacture weapons, in particular the joint-stock company “mikron”, which is russia's largest manufacturer and exporter of microelectronics and the rf’s largest manufacturer of chips. The sanctions also affected the software and communication technology company “ndi-vektor” and the computer firm t-platforms. The United States also imposed restrictions on “sernia engineering” LLC and “sertal”. They are associated with enterprises producing weapons and special equipment.

The United Kingdom has imposed additional sanctions on prominent russian figures and military leaders, including sergei brilov, a propagandist who owns the news channel russia today.

The sanctions also targeted other russian figures, including aleksandr zharov, general director of gazprom media, aleksei nikolov, director of rt, and anton anisimov, head of “sputnik” international broadcaster.

colonel-general mikhail mizintsev, known as the “Mariupol’s butcher”, was also on the sanctions list of 14 new people.

“putin's war against Ukraine is based on a stream of lies. Great Britain has helped lead the world in exposing the kremlin’s disinformation, and this latest batch of sanctions strikes out shameless propagandists who push out fake news and putin's narratives. We will continue to impose new sanctions to increase pressure on russia and ensure putin's defeat in Ukraine”, said Liz Truss, the British Foreign Secretary.

The head of the state duma called for the dismissal from posts of those who disagree with russia's aggression against Ukraine.

the state duma committee approved a bill on delisting (exclusion of securities) of receipts of Russian companies from foreign exchanges.

russia's minister of economy reshetnikov said that russian companies whose depository receipts are traded abroad should return to russia if there are no other solutions.

While russia positioned itself as a civilized country, most imported products were sold with the permission of the copyright holder. After the government’s decision to allow parallel imports, russia will be destroyed by counterfeit products. According to the executive director of the Association of Electronics Developers and Manufacturers Ivan Pokrovskyi, the share of counterfeits in the world is less than 1%, and the main supplier of counterfeits - 96% - are unauthorized suppliers. At the same time, authorized supply channels occupy 95% of the world market, the remaining 5% are occupied by independent suppliers. “If we take these figures and make calculations, it turns out that the probability of buying counterfeit products from independent suppliers is 400 times higher”, Pokrovskyi said. He is confident that the use of counterfeit components in the electronics industry will raise the level of shortages, as well as the risk of product failure during operation. “China has long worked not only as a global factory, but also as a global landfill for discarded equipment from the markets of “developed” countries, accordingly, huge volumes of electronics are now being processed by companies specializing in this, repackaged, re-labeled and resold in the market. Such production is one of the main sources of counterfeiting”.

The ministry of industry and trade proposed to withdraw from the trade the obligation to issue paper cash receipts. The reason for this initiative is a sharp rise in the cost of paper. In some regions there is a shortage of cash register tape, the price of which has doubled or tripled.

The document sent to the FPS states that if the prices for cash register tape “remain at the same level, it will lead to an increase in retail costs for the year by almost 30 billion rubles”. Experts believe that if such a decision is made, it will be more difficult for buyers to prove their rightness in controversial cases.

The number of DDoS attacks on russian companies increased eightfold in March, and the average duration increased from 12 minutes to 29 hours compared to last year. According to the study, the biggest burden in March was on financial institutions, during the year their share in the total number of attacks doubled - to 35%. Also in March, 33% of attacks were on government agencies, 9% on educational institutions, and 3% on media sites. Peculiarity of recent DDoS attacks is the participation of non-professional hackers.

spokesman peskov suggested that the transfer of payments for gas to the ruble could be canceled, “if conditions change, in this case there is nothing reinforced concrete, but in the current conditions, the ruble is the best and most reliable option for us”. He said that the transition from April 1 to payment for gas in rubles does not mean an immediate disconnection from supply, payments will go within a month.

deputy prime minister borisov has said that plans for mass production of the MS-21 aircraft have been extended for 1-2 years.

The Russian government proposes to repeatedly use foreign containers for rail transportation within the country, – reads a draft federal law.

Since mid-March, banks, microfinancers and collectors have been struggling to raise money to collect debts from individuals through the federal bailiffs service (FSSP). More than 60 organizations have problems, said elman mekhtiyev, president of the national association of professional collection agencies.

Some collection agencies are talking about reducing transfers to 50%. Microfinance organizations claim a reduction in revenue to one third. According to the director of the department of overdue debts of rosbank yevgeniy senkovsky, bailiffs massively refuse to go to the debtors to arrest property.

The Artdocfest documentary film festival in Russia has been suspended.

russian foreign ministry’s spokeswoman zakharova commented on Chanel's refusal to sell things to russian citizens. “Apparently, those who run the legacy of the Great Coco have thus decided to join the russophobic campaign. What does russia's anti-fascist operation have to do with the French fashion house? … During World War II, Coco Chanel herself was a collaborator and agent of the Third Reich. Chanel took part in attempts to organize negotiations between the Reich and Great Britain, at the expense of the Nazis, the fashion designer resolved her commercial problems, with the help of the Nazis she tried to regain the rights to profit from the sale of perfumes. We forgave everyone everything, having turned the page, having given way to the future. But if this road turns out to be a ring road, we will break this vicious circle”, zakharova wrote in her telegram channel.

The Russians themselves write that madame zakharova must have been “overwhelmed” by the prospect of using “Moscow” au de cologne.

Well-known film actor Gerard Depardieu called russia's military invasion of Ukraine putin’s “crazy and unacceptable excess” and criticized russia's actions. Depardieu also said he would donate all proceeds from ticket sales to three concerts in Paris in support of Ukrainian war victims.

In response, a campaign was launched in russia to harass putin's former favorite. state duma deputy sultan khamzaev proposed to deprive Depardieu of russian citizenship and confiscate his property for “attacks” made by the actor. The kremlin believes that the actor does not understand the essence of what is happening in Ukraine, and offered to explain to him the reasons for the “special operation”.

Europe and the World

US President Joe Biden has said he will use emergency powers to increase the production of materials used in electric car batteries and to store renewable energy, including lithium, graphite and nickel.

Biden also suggested a “use it or lose it” policy for oil companies that do not use existing production licenses. The number of such licenses reaches nine thousand. US energy companies promise to start producing an additional 1 million barrels of oil per day, possibly in autumn. The US President reminded that he expects allies and partners to release 30-50 million barrels of oil from reserves.

The US Department of Commerce has announced that the US Patent Office is terminating contacts with rospatent and the belarusian patent office.

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said that the European Union could create a fund for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which would direct funds and property of companies and Russian citizens who have been subject to sanctions.

During an online summit, EU leaders called on China's leadership to help end the war in Ukraine. European Council President Charles Michel said that “we have called on Beijing to help end hostilities in Ukraine”.

At the same time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Chinese leaders not to help russia circumvent Western sanctions. The EU will “monitor any attempts by Beijing” to support moscow in circumventing sanctions.

The European Commission has approved a proposal to convert cash from hryvnia to EU host countries’ currency for those fleeing the war in Ukraine. Some Member States are considering the introduction of national schemes that support the conversion of a limited amount of hryvnia per person. The schemes should provide for maximum limits of UAH 10,000 per person without commissions at the official exchange rate published by the National Bank of Ukraine.

The International Nuclear Energy Agency is preparing a special mission to provide assistance to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The agency's first mission will be sent to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the next few days.

The Sviatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv arrested 12 An-124-100 Ruslan transport aircrafts of the russian Volga-Dnepr airline as part of a criminal case opened at the request of the Antonov state enterprise. According to the decisions, three An-124-100 Ruslan aircrafts of Volga-Dnepr Airlines were banned to fly from Germany and one from Canada. rosaviatsiya has illegally granted the right to the company, which was part of the Volga-Dnepr group of companies, certificates of airworthiness for Ruslans. “In fact, in recent years, Volga-Dnepr has been issuing certificates to itself, endangering the safe operation of aircrafts, which is a flagrant violation of international conventions”, the law firm explained.

The London Metal Exchange has banned the placement of some metals from russia.

The Seim of Latvia approved in the first reading amendments to the law “On Immigration”, which provide for the suspension of the issuance of primary temporary residence permits to citizens of russia and belarus until June 30, 2023.

The German Ministry of Defense has decided to supply Ukraine with infantry fighting vehicles from the reserves of the former GDR, which are now located in the Czech Republic. These are 56-58 BMP (PbV-501, formerly known as BMP-1), equipped with a cannon and machine guns.

According to Handelsblatt, the German Ministry of Finance is working on the nationalization of the German “daughters” of “Gazprom” and rosneft”. The kremlin considers unacceptable even the mention of Germany’s considering nationalization of the “daughters” of “Gazprom” and “rosneft”.

On March 31, gazprom terminated its participation in Gazprom Germania GMBH and all its assets. At the same time, gazprom withdrew from cooperation with Gazprom Marketing & Trading LTD.

Germany has suspended cooperation with russia and belarus in the tax sector.

The French Foreign Minister stated the need to impose a new package of sanctions against russia. The list of the measures will be determined in the coming days.

4,500 containers of russian cargo are stuck in Europe's largest seaport, Rotterdam. The containers are awaiting checks on the presence of sanctioned goods, as the European Union has banned the export of many products to the country. The chief executive of the port, Allard Castelvin, said that of the thousands of containers on each ship that arrived, the new legislation allows only a few dozens or hundreds to be sent to russia. The reason for such accumulation of cargo was also the refusal of many container terminals and shipping companies to register cargo destined for shipment to russia.

Irish paper packaging manufacturer Smurfit Kapp Group PLC, the largest in this segment in Europe, has announced the completion of its activities in the russian market.

The manufacturer of computer devices for gamers Logitech has stopped deliveries to russia.

Christie's auction house has banned the sale of luxury items to customers in russia and belarus.

From April 7, Disney will completely stop renting its films in russian cinemas.