March 19, 2022 Socio - Economic Situation in Russia. Sanctions in Action

RF

Russia's Sberbank has said that its customers will no longer be able to make bank transfers in dollars and pounds, and foreign transfers in the app are only possible in euros.

The Central Bank said that rising lending rates and bank requirements for the quality of borrowers amid growing uncertainty has led to tough lending conditions. At the same time, the Central Bank expects Russia's GDP to decline in the coming quarters, and indicators show that the situation in the Russian economy is deteriorating. The Central Bank believes that inflation has accelerated significantly due to rising demand and instead of increased uncertainty and rising inflation expectations, as well as the weakening ruble. The Central Bank emphasizes that Russia's economy is entering a phase of large-scale structural adjustment, it will be accompanied by a temporary but inevitable period of high inflation.

Following the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, its Chairman Nabiullina stated that “inflation this year and, most likely, next year will be higher than previously estimated. GDP will decline in the coming quarters. We plan to present a new macroeconomic forecast at a reference meeting in April”.

The head of the state development corporation “WEB.RF”Shuvalov hopes that Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves will one day be unfrozen and they will be available for economic development, but cannot predict when this will happen.

The Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation has reported that the number of organizations that bring workers to a downtime due to changes in work processes is growing.

Restrictions on the operation of airports in Kuban and a number of cities in southern Russia have been continued until March 26, according to the press service of the SC “Aerodynamics” (manages the airports of Sochi, Krasnodar, Anapa and Gelendzhik).

Foreign Minister Lavrov said that more than 5,000 individual sanctions had been imposed on Russia, and this is a world record. In an interview with RT, he predicted that sanctions pressure on Russia would increase.

Chairman of the Federation Council Matvienko urged citizens not to panic and not to buy buckwheat and sugar, pointing out that the country still has sufficient reserves of both.

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office said prosecutors had launched investigations into illegal raising of prices for  food, household chemicals and personal care products.

Moscow Mayor Sobyaninsaid that  nearly 300 foreign companies had stopped working in Moscow.

One of the largest music festivals in the CIS “Picnic Posters” in 2022 will not take place due to the situation in the world, according to the official website of “Posters”.

The Moscow International Film Festival has been postponed indefinitely.

Europe and the World

The European Parliament has banned Russian diplomats and civil servants from entering their residences in Brussels and Strasbourg.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has declared ten Russian diplomats non grata, the Russian Ambassador said.

Lithuania is sending out four Russian embassy staff. Estonia is also sending out three Russian diplomats. Latvia is sendingout  three employees of the Russian embassy “for activities that contradict their diplomatic status”,  said the Latvian Foreign Minister.

Lithuania has limited the export of cash to Russia and Belarus to € 60.

Poland will “de-Russify” the Polish and European economies, said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Japan has imposed sanctions on nine Russian companies and 15 Russians. Among them are Maria Zakharova, Suleiman Kerimov, Timur Ivanov, Yunus-BekYevkurov, Rosoboronexport, UAC and “Russian Helicopters”. Also, the Japanese company AGC, the world's largest glass manufacturer, has decided to stop investing in Russia and reduce the supply of its products to the Russian market, according to the corporation.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) and the international online shopWildberrieshave  discussed the legalization of parallel imports in Russia. Parallel imports, i.e. the import of goods into the country without the permission of the right holder, was not allowed  in Russia until recently.

Australia has imposed sanctions on 11 Russian banks and government agencies. Restrictions apply, in particular, to the National Welfare Fund and the Ministry of Finance. Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg have also been blacklisted, the Australian Foreign Ministry said.

S&P Global, an analyst in financial markets, has downgraded Russia's long-term sovereign credit rating in foreign currency from CCC to CC with a negative outlook of “more than likely default”.

The online service for digital distribution of computer games and programs Steam has stopped paying salaries to developers from Belarus and Russia, experts say.

The British regulator Ofcom has revoked RT's license to broadcast in the UK, the decision takes effect immediately.

The price of nickel on the London Non-Ferrous Metals Exchange LME fell by 12% on Friday, falling to $ 36,915 per ton, after which trading was suspended.

The RuTracker torrent platform “does not support any action by the Russian authorities in the current situation” and will block access for users from Russia, even if Roskomnadzor removes the site from the banned list, the company said.

Switzerland has decided in the coming days to impose measures against Russia under the fourth EU sanctions package.

Norway has joined a number of EU sanctions against Russia, the press service of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said.

The FinGuard of Italy has arrested a residential property of Russian businessman billionaire Alexei Mordashov in Sardinia worth 105 million euros.

The American bank BNY Mellon has stopped the possibility of investing in Russian securities.

The US Department of Commerce will block 99 Boeing aircrafts operated by Aeroflot, AirBridge Cargo, Utair, Nordwind, Azur Air and Aviastar-TU, as well as Roman Abramovich's Gulfstream G650 business jet. Any company that provides fuel, maintenance or spare parts for these aircraft will be  subject to sanctions.

The United States will take measures against those states that are ready to help Russia circumvent new Western sanctions or accept its funding, the US State Department said.

FIFA and UEFA have excluded Russia from all international competitions, and the participation of both clubs and national teams is prohibited.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has excluded clubs and national teams from Russia and Belarus from all competitions, depriving Russia of the right to host the 2023 Junior World Championships.

International associations WBA, WBO, WBC and IBF have canceled all fights in Russia, Russian and Belarusian boxers are excluded from rating lists.

EA Sports has removed all Russian teams from the popular games FIFA 22 and NHL 22.

The European Handball Federation has banned the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participating in its competitions.

The International Skating Union (ISU) has suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus and athletes from those countries.

The Ski Federation has canceled all competitions in Russia.

The International Gymnastics Federation has canceled all competitions in Russia and Belarus.

The International Volleyball Federation FIVB has taken away from Russia the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

The International Basketball Federation has suspended Russia from participating in international competitions under its auspices and has canceled Russia's bid for Eurobasket 2025.

The International Rugby Federation has suspended teams from Russia and Belarus.

The international tennis organizations WTA, ATP and ITF have banned Russia and Belarus from participating in international team competitions in 2022, canceled the Kremlin Cup 2022 tournament, and abolished the right to vote of the Russian and Belarusian tennis federations. Athletes from those countries can only perform under a neutral flag.

The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete only under a neutral flag.

The International Swimming Federation has moved tournaments from Russia. Russian swimmers can only perform under a neutral flag.

The International Judo Federation has canceled the Kazan Grand Prix and stripped Putin of his ambassador and honorary president titles