Russia
BRICKS & MORTAR: What happens if Russia’s mortgage subsidy programme ends?
Almost as soon as the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and a concurrent collapse in oil prices hit Russia’s economy last March, the government reacted by introducing a mortgage subsidy programme; that may end this summer.
Russia launches Sputnik-Lite one-shot vaccine with 80% efficacy
Russia has launched the one-shot Sputnik-Lite anti-coronavirus vaccine, on May 6, that it claims has a 79.4% efficacy, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a press release.
Turkey's "crazy" canal would impact Eurasian trade, geopolitics
The project threatens the delicate regional military balance.
Russians Services PMI remains a strong 55.2 in April but slowed a little from March, optimism for the rest of the year high
The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Russia Services Business Activity PMI index slowed a little in April to 55.2, down slightly from 55.8 in March, but remains robustly above the 50 no-change level as services bounce back.
Russian ice cream consumption to hit new record of 3.1kg per person
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was in Moscow in winter to meet Stalin during WWII. Passing a group of Russians he asked his driver: "What are they doing?" "Eating ice cream, sir." He paused and said: “These people will never be defeated."
DATACRUNCH: Ukraine starts to close the gap with Russia
Russia and Ukraine are both emerging from the coronacrisis and have had very similar experiences, but as the recovery gets under way Ukraine is beginning to close the gap with Russia.
Russia’s manufacturing PMI slips to 50.4 in April as growth slows
The headline seasonally adjusted IHS Markit Russia Manufacturing PMI registered 50.4 in April, down slightly from 51.1 in March, to signal the slowest improvement in operating conditions in the last four months.
MOSCOW BLOG: Russian economy starts to turn up but so does inflation
Russia’s economy clearly began to emerge from the coronacrisis in March as industrial production went into the black for the first time in almost a year, posting a 1.1% expansion, and inflation started to fall again in the same month.
Russia's business and consumer confidence surveys delivered very positive results
Spirits in Russia are picking up as both Rosstat’s business and consumer confidence surveys delivered very positive results.
DATACRUNCH: Russian economy makes a stronger than expected recovery
Russia’s economy contracted less than feared in 2020 and now it is bouncing back from the coronacrisis faster than analysts were expecting.
Russian population inflation expectations soar to their highest level since 2016
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has released the results of a survey on inflation expectations conducted in early April that show consumers' expectations for inflation have “gone through the roof”.
EWDN: After a new acquisition, Sber wants to become a central player in the Russian digital music market
Sber, the state-controlled financial and digital giant, has announced a binding agreement to fully acquire Muzlab, a leader in the Russian B2B audio streaming market.
EWDN: After successes in Russia and Israel, Yandex prepares to launch express delivery service in Western Europe
Yandex, the NASDAQ-listed Russian tech major, is preparing to launch its express e-grocery delivery service in Western Europe – after successful deployment in Russia and Israel, reports East-West Digital News (EWDN).
COMMENT: Philanthropy in Russia – not for the faint-hearted
Wealth in Russia comes with no small number of headaches. But one of the more surprising ones, linked to money, is that sometimes you can’t even give it away.
Russia's Sber grows ecosystem to 4% of revenues, still in red
Sber's ecosystem first-quarter revenues almost quadrupled their share of Russia's largest bank's 1Q21 revenues.
Russia’s real incomes fall in 1Q21
Both real incomes and real disposable incomes were down in the first quarter of this year
Team Navalny shut down regional office network ahead of “extremist organisation” ruling
Team Navalny, the informal organisation behind jailed anti-corruption activist and opposition politician Alexei Navalny, has closed down its regional network in anticipation of a court ruling labelling it an “extremist” organisation.
Hungary and Russia agree five-year delay in start of repayments of €10bn Paks loan facility
The decision to modify the financial terms of the contract signals that Moscow is not expecting the new nuclear reactor block to go operational before 2031.
COMMENT: Was Russia preparing to invade Ukraine? A look inside Moscow’s strategy
The recent build-up and withdrawal of Russian forces at Ukraine's eastern border forms part of President Putin's coherent strategy to recover control of Ukraine and reverse the 1991 territorial losses stemming from the 1991 collapse of the USSR.
Bulgaria expels Russian diplomat over Moscow’s alleged involvement in weapons explosions
The foreign ministry in Sofia urged Moscow to cooperate with the Bulgarian prosecution's investigation into the explosions and the poisoning of Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev.
