The standoff over Ukraine has seen Europe and the U.S. warn Russia of economic isolation. But this is unlikely to matter, as it would only accelerate a Russian pivot towards China – with an imminent multi-billion natural gas deal set be a centerpiece of that strategic shift.
Russia’s central bank has revoked the license of Master Bank, a mid-sized Moscow-based lender, after an investigation uncovered “large-scale dubious operations” related to money laundering and false accounting, reported Reuters on Wednesday.
The news was significant given that a member of Master Bank’s board was the cousin of President Vladimir Putin, while the bank also holds around $1 billion in individual deposits.
Russia’s economy ministry has slashed its long-term growth forecast through to 2030, warning that falling investments and exports could lead to an era of stagnation behind the rest of the world.
According to Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev on Thursday, Russia’s GDP will rise by just 2.5 percent on average for the next 16 years – below a 4 percent target originally set by President Vladimir Putin before his return to the Kremlin last year.
Russians will get to decide on a new symbol for their currency, reported Reuters on Wednesday, in a move by the government to enhance the international profile of the rouble ahead of plans to establish Moscow as a global financial centre.
The Russian central bank, the Bank of Russia, received over 1,000 entries for an official symbol, before narrowing it down to five finalists on their website.
Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has proposed raising the state duty on divorce by nearly 7500 percent, in order to discourage couples from jumping into marriage before careful consideration, according to Russian state media on Tuesday.
Russia has reopened a 54km cross-border freight railway from its eastern border town of Khasan to the North Korean port of Rajin, in the hopes that the train network could eventually link across to South Korea and transport goods to the rest of Asia, according to a Bloomberg report.
The Russian military has sent 10 warships to a previously abandoned naval base off its Arctic Coast, in an apparent bid to protect the new northern shipping route to Asia, as well as to secure the region’s vast energy resources, according to a Reuters report on Monday.
Russia plans to close more than 700 schools this year because of a slump in the number of school-going children, according to a Wednesday report by the AFP, as the country, sometimes known as the Dying Bear, struggles to a halt a steep decline in population since the collapse of communism.
Russia has no shortage of talent, technology or resources. The country’s top managers and functionaries are well accustomed to navigating their way through political and bureaucratic storms, and the sheer size of the country and natural endowments of oil and gas cement Moscow’s position in economic and diplomatic spheres. So why is their economy in such a state of dysfunction?
Officials and businessmen close to Russian president Vladimir Putin have embezzled as much as $30 billion from funds allocated for next year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, alleged opposition figures on Thursday, arguing that the most expensive construction projects went to “Putin’s friends” for inflated price tags, with contracts given without proper competition or public tenders.
