Russia
Efforts to deploy US counterterrorism forces in Uzbekistan may not be over
Tashkent holds firmly to ‘No’ but Putin underlines difficulty of Afghanistan situation by saying intelligence indicates 2,000 Islamic State members may be present in north of country alone.
Russian internet major Yandex adds London to foodtech expansion
Russia’s ultrafast grocery delivery service Yango Deli that can get goods to customers in under 15 minutes has launched in London, the company said in a press release on October 14.
bneGREEN: Russia to become carbon neutral by 2060
Russian President Vladimir Putin set the goal of carbon neutrality by 2060 during comments in his speech at the plenary session of Russia’s Energy Week on October 13.
Mail.ru Group pursues gaming acquisitions across Russia and Belarus
Mail.ru Group’s appetite for acquisitions in the gaming space was confirmed again today as My.Games Venture Capital (MGVC), the investment arm of its subsidiary My.Games, announced minority investments in three game studios.
Metalloinvest hires Knauf executives as independent directors to boost corporate governance, ESG
Leading Russian metallurgical company Metalloinvest has hired Alexander Blumhardt and Manfred Grundke from the global construction materials group Knauf, to serve on the board as independent directors to boost the company’s corporate governance.
Russian internet major Mail.ru rebrands to VK in ecosystem drive
Russia's internet major Mail.ru Group announced its rebranding into VK, the name of the social network (former VKontakte) and the key asset of the group.
bneGREEN: Governments still woefully short of IEA’s net-zero requirements
Governments need to smash the stubborn dominance of fossil fuels if the world is to reach net zero by 2050, despite the rapid development of green technologies, the IEA warns.
Putin blames low wind power output for gas crisis
Low wind power output in Europe has played a role in causing the current gas supply crisis in Europe, Russian president Vladimir Putin said in speech on October 13.
FPRI BMB Russia: Russia launches its Strategic Initiatives programme
The Russian government approved a list of 42 strategic initiatives for socio-economic development of the country on October 7. Their aim, according to the official announcement, is “to improve people’s quality of life."
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Non-oil exports driving Russia towards new all-time high current account balance this year
Non-oil exports drive Russia’s current account balance to a historical quarterly high of $40.8bn in the third quarter, the CBR reported on October 11.
Familia leads Russia’s off-price retailers with knock-down high fashion offering
What happens to last season’s clothing that big fashion retailers can’t sell? Landfill is not the only choice for producers. Enter off-price retailers, who buy the end-of-season surplus from top names and sell it at low prices.
ING: Russian ruble enters 4Q21 on a strong note
Russia's exceptionally strong current account surplus helped the ruble outperform its peer currencies in 3Q21 and is likely to keep doing so in 4Q21. As a result, we see USDRUB appreciating to 70.0-71.0 in the coming month.
From Dutch earthquakes to a UK fracking ban: how declining European gas supply has contributed to the current crisis
There are many underlying causes behind the current gas supply crisis unfolding in Europe. A “V” shaped market has seen global gas demand surge but adding to a perfect storm is that the EU's own gas production has been plummeting.
Nobel prize fight
In 1993, Mikhail Gorbachev spent a small portion of the money from his Nobel Prize for Peace, awarded three years prior, on eight computers requested by a modest journalistic startup. The latter grew to become the liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Murat Aliev’s Bonum Capital deal consolidates Russian forestry sector
Russia is home to a fifth of the planet’s forests, more than any other country in the world by a comfortable margin. But the country’s share in the global forest products market is just 4%, according to the UN.
STOLYPIN: It isn’t the ‘Usual Suspect' who is really 'weaponising gas'
That naughty Vladimir Putin is up to his tricks again. Not weaponising football hooligans or COVID vaccines this time, but gas. Politicians are queuing up to blame Russia. The trouble is, this is not just bad analysis but also bad politics.
Russian international reserves fall $10bn to $612bn
Russia’s gross international reserves have fallen by $10bn from an all-time high to $611.9bn as of October 1, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Russia.
Sber becomes Europe’s most valuable bank
Sber (formerly known as Sberbank) became the most valuable bank in Europe on October 7. Previously the first place was held by the British HSBC, Russian media reported.
ING: Winter is coming… and so is further volatility for energy markets
Energy prices have seen significant strength recently. European gas prices have rallied 94% during September, taking them to record levels. Oil and coal have also strengthened.
Vodka drinking on the decline in Russia
Russia is a top ten global alcohol producer and has one of the highest vodka consumption levels globally: 3.5 litres per capita in 2020 of pure alcohol. But the shape of the market is also rapidly changing.
