Fortune (February 22)
“Four years after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy has entered a ‘death zone.’” Former Russian central bank advisor Alexandra Prokopenko, currently a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, believes “the Russian economy is eating its own muscle to survive as Putin’s war on Ukraine destroys future capacity.” The economy might not be ”headed for an imminent crash, but GDP has stagnated, oil revenue has been halved amid Western sanctions, and the government’s budget deficit is rapidly draining reserves.”
Tags: Budget deficit, Central bank, Crash, Death zone, Economy, Future capacity, GDP, Government, Invasion, Oil revenue, Prokopenko, Putin, Reserves, Russia, Stagnated, Ukraine, Western sanctions
Reuters (February 27)
“International companies with exposure to Russia are girding for further Western sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.” Among the most exposed companies in Asia are Japan Tobacco, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corporation, SBI Holdings, and Toyota.
Tags: Asia, Companies, Exposure, Girding, International, Invasion, Japan Tobacco, Marubeni, Mitsubishi Corporation, Moscow, Russia, SBI Holdings, Ukraine, Western sanctions
New York Times (April 7)
“Greece cannot count on Russia to ride to its financial rescue. The sharp drop in oil prices and, to a lesser extent, Western sanctions have damaged the Russian economy and limited Mr. Putin’s ability to dole out aid to other countries.” The Greeks can, however, be sure that Putin will try to exploit any chinks in the EU’s armor. “Mr. Tsipras should be careful not to let himself be used to undermine European unity.”
Tags: Economy, EU, Financial rescue, Greece, Oil prices, Putin, Russia, Tsipras, Unity, Western sanctions
Washington Post (December 3)
“In authoritarian politics, as in life, attitude is everything, or almost everything.” Vladimir Putin has demonstrated a relentless desire to hold onto power by any means necessary. “Those who hope that falling oil prices, or Western sanctions, or a combination of the two, will force a change of course in Moscow — much less a change of regime — must reckon with the fact that Putin has seen that scenario once already, in Gorbachev’s time. And he seems determined that the sequel, if any, will end differently.”
Tags: Attitude, Authoritarian, Gorbachev, Moscow, Oil prices, Politics, Power, Putin, Western sanctions
