Despite possessing better financing and greater energy benefits compared to its competitors (namely the Nabucco pipeline), the proposed South Stream pipeline has faced considerable opposition in Europe – by countries who wish to reduce the region’s reliance on Russian gas. Europe must ask itself: is politics really worth losing out on South Stream’s economic benefits?
On paper, Russian President Vladimir Putin is fully committed to the privatisation of state assets. In May last year, he signed a decree calling for the sale of all state holdings in firms – outside of the defence and energy industries – by 2016. But since then, the pace of Russian privatisation has been languid at best. Part of the problem has been opposition from avowed statists, who count a close ally and adviser to Putin among their ranks.
Nearly half of Russia’s employable population are working in illegitimate businesses or operations, admitted Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets on Wednesday, warning that Russia could be at least 20 years behind on the international labour market in terms of the level of employment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a new decree ordering all officials and civil servants to close their foreign bank accounts and be rid of offshore financial assets within the next three months, or face instant dismissal from their post, reported the Financial Times.
Russian prosecutors and tax authorities on Monday conducted a surprise “audit” at the Moscow office of human rights group Amnesty International’s (AI), reported the New York Times, demanding for a list of documents and tax forms to be handed over – in what activists have now described as a month-long state clampdown on nongovernmental groups.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s saw Russian embark on a strategic retreat from the Middle East, with a dramatic decline in both its presence and influence. But recent events, particularly in Syria and Libya, suggest that Russia may be regaining its past standing – not just in the region, but also as a major global player.
Russia is back. President Vladimir Putin wants the world to acknowledge that Russia remains a global power. He is making his stand in Syria.
Russian companies this year have raised more money via the offshore renminbi debt market as compared to their Chinese counterparts, reported the Financial Times on Monday, highlighting the growing appeal of the dim sum bond market as a cheap source of funding for emerging market borrowers.
Russia’s illegal capital outflows reached $49 billion last year with more than half the amount controlled by one organised group, Russia’s central bank revealed on Wednesday.
The illicit transfers, which account for 86 percent of net capital flight in 2012 and about 2.5 percent of Russia’s $2.1 trillion economy, include the proceeds from bribe-taking and embezzlement by officials, payments for drug trafficking and tax evasion, said Sergei Ignatyev, chairman of the Bank of Russia.
The Russian government are speeding up a 58-billion-ruble ($2 billion) program to protect the nation against threats from outer space, claimed Russia Today News on Tuesday, after a meteor crashed into a community in the Ural mountains last week, injuring at least 950 people – and earning international attention thanks to online viral footage.
Russia presently holds the world’s largest proven reserves of natural gas and continually alternates with Saudi Arabia as the top oil producer. Throughout history, the country’s energy sector periodically has strengthened and weakened. Managing this cycle has been a centerpiece of Russia’s domestic and foreign policy since czarist times. This historical burden now rests on Vladimir Putin’s regime.
