Russia’s War Economy Is Hitting Its Limits Key weapons are running out as Moscow tries to mobilize ever more labor and resources. https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/11/1...apons-production-labor-shortage-demographics/
Kremlin loses one of its quickest and cheapest sanctions-busting schemes https://english.nv.ua/nation/those-...apest-sanctions-busting-schemes-50474555.html Russian importers’ hopes that a Kyrgyz state-owned company, created to handle payments for deliveries to Russia, would simplify their operations and turn a blind eye to the transit of sanctioned goods, have not been realized. According to The Moscow Times, under U.S. pressure, the Kyrgyz government has imposed a one-year ban on foreign companies sending payments out of the country without the actual delivery of purchased products. This has closed off a popular method for Russian companies to pay for goods (including sanctioned ones) and services from China and Europe. “They transferred currency — dollars, yuan, and sometimes rubles — from Russia to their structures or intermediaries in Kyrgyzstan, and these intermediaries sent the payments onward to foreign suppliers. The goods would then travel from the purchase country to Russia along the shortest and most cost-effective route, bypassing Kyrgyzstan. The scheme was cheap and quick — money reached the recipient in a few days, and the costs did not exceed 1-2% of the payment,” the article states. Kyrgyzstan’s central bank has now demanded that any goods purchased via such payments must arrive in the country within 60 days. “The country’s banks have required clients to sign corresponding guarantee agreements for payments abroad. This has made the scheme through Kyrgyzstan too expensive and slow,” the author writes. An exception was made for a state-owned company designated by the Kyrgyz government. It was expected that payments could be sent abroad through this company without any obligations. The Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy and Trade founded the Kyrgyz Republic Trading Company. Its performance, however, has disappointed Russian importers. It turns out that the company cannot be used to pay for sanctioned goods, and its service fees are too high. “It’s a regular agent, not very useful and quite expensive,” said a major Russian importer. According to him, the state-owned company does not have a fixed service fee — the contract proposed to him stated that the commission for each payment would be determined by an additional agreement. This has been confirmed by three other importers who tried working with the Kyrgyz company. “They offered us a commission of 4% and 6% for two of our ordinary, non-sanctioned plastic household goods purchases, and at the same time, we were losing on the conversion — since Kyrgyzstan now accepts rubles, sells us foreign currency at the internal bank rates, and only then sends it abroad,” one of The Moscow Times’s sources said. Such rates are unappealing, say importers. A transfer from VTB to its Shanghai subsidiary (still operational despite sanctions) costs the same 4% and works, though not perfectly — with occasional delays and limited suppliers. However, VTB is lowering its commission for transfers to China for small and medium-sized businesses to 2.5% as of Dec. 16, according to the head of a trading company sourcing products from China. So, the Kyrgyz authorities have simply joined the group looking to profit from Russian foreign trade transactions but have done nothing to support them, he concludes. Earlier reports stated that in September 2024, Kyrgyzstan shut down the channel for transit payments for goods from Europe and China.
Just when you thought Russian interest rates could not go any higher. PutinLand is on its way to becoming the next Zimbabwe. Russia braced for mammoth rate hike amid fears it’s losing the battle against inflation https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/16/rus...are|com.apple.UIKit.activity.CopyToPasteboard
LMAO Russia currently third economy in the world and growing explosively Ang Germany economy dying Germany are complete slaves to USA. USA did terrorist attack on Nord Stream and germany just silently started buying US NG paying 5x more than before now thousands of businesses bankrupt everyday in Germany when Russia reached economic nirvana
LOL. You better go look up the ranking of countries via GDP. The only things growing explosively in Russia are inflation, interest rates, currency depreciation, and business bankruptcies.
On January 20 all Ukrainians shills including you will have your allowance cutI expect it will be enough to see Nazi loving posts exceedingly rare
The Russians will be starving this winter. Unprecedented Russian winter crop failure sparks fears of soaring food prices Russian winter crops are failing at an "unprecedented" rate, leading to fears of a major food crisis in the country and pushing up prices for consumers. https://www.the-express.com/news/wo...d-levels-sparking-fears-soaring-food-prices-s Russia is experiencing an "unprecedented" failure rate of winter crops, sparking concerns that escalating food prices could trigger social instability. Russian consumers have already endured significant price hikes for basic food items throughout the summer and autumn. Potato prices have skyrocketed by a staggering 78%, while costs for cabbage, beetroots, and butter have also surged between 27% and 31%. However, the situation appears set to worsen for beleaguered Russian consumers as farmers grapple with a record loss of winter crops. The Russian analytical center ProZerno revealed that 38% of poor and unsprouted winter crops for the 2025 harvest, describing it as an "an unprecedentedly huge value" and stating that the situation had "never been this bad". They noted that only 5.48 million hectares of winter crops are in good condition across Russia (excluding new regions), marking the smallest amount of healthy crops before winter in the past 23 years. The Central Federal District of Russia is the hardest hit, with nearly two-thirds of crops either failing to sprout or in poor condition. In the Southern Federal District, almost half of the winter crops (44%) are deemed "poor." The North Caucasus and the Volga region fare slightly better, with poor crop rates of 29.2% and 14.1% respectively. The current grim forecast is attributed to the droughts that plagued the country during the summer and autumn months, according to ProZerno analysts. Several regions of Russia experienced zero rainfall from April through October, leading to a state of emergency being declared in at least five areas. This drought came on the heels of severe frosts in May, which decimated nearly 10% of the grain harvest and up to a quarter of the vegetable yield. As per data from Russia's Statistical Agency Rosstat, food price inflation is currently at a two-year high of 10.2%. This surge in food prices is rapidly depleting household budgets, especially those of retirees. Tatyana, a 72 year old resident of the Russian city of Kirov, revealed to Bloomberg that she now allocates about two-thirds of her pension towards food expenses alone.