The Ruble Hits Early War Lows, Extending a Slide That Began After Prigozhin’s Mutiny.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The ruble fell as low as 94 rubles per dollar on Thursday before making a slight recovery by the end of the trading day.

The Russian ruble slid to lows unseen since the weeks after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, amid fallout from the mercenary boss Yevgeny V. Prigozhin’s aborted insurrection and declining Russian oil and gas revenues.

The currency fell as low as 94 rubles per dollar on Thursday before making a slight recovery by the end of the trading day, jolting confidence among Russians, who often interpret the exchange rate as an indicator of the nation’s financial well-being.

The ruble hasn’t seen such lows since March 2022, the month after President Vladimir V. Putin ordered Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and triggered a raft of Western sanctions that briefly sent the country’s economy into a tailspin. » | Paul Sonne | Thursday, July 6, 2023

Inside Russia – Konstantin: Russian Economy Collapsing

Oct 26, 2022

Russia's Economy: Is It Crumbling or Standing Strong? | DW News

un 10, 2022 • Sanctions against Russia are already having an effect. Prices are already rising, companies are closing and unemployment is rising. Especially in Russian aviation. What is the impact Russia's war against Ukraine is having on the country's industry?

‘I Am Watching My Business Fall Apart’ – Can Retailers Survive inside Putin’s Russia?

THE GUARDIAN: A local partner of one British brand says his hopes are fading and risks deepening as stock dwindles

A closed Prada shop in Moscow. Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA
Western brands have swiftly moved to shut down operations in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, wiping well-known goods from the shelves. But what does it feel like for those trying to run businesses in the country?

The Russian partner of one western brand shares their story.

“To say I have concerns about the future is a huge understatement. Waking up every day with the knowledge that you are an unwilling part of this nightmare is devastating.

“I have been building my business for decades, and now I am watching it fall apart. I have people depending on me – not just my family, but my employees, who will lose their source of income, their health insurance, their livelihood. One of my biggest concerns is their welfare. But of course, compared with the tragedy that’s happening in Ukraine, all business concerns seem insignificant.

“As of this moment, retail businesses are still functioning – but the biggest question we all have is what will happen in a few weeks or months, when supplies run out. » | Sarah Butler | Saturday, March 26, 2022

Russia Threatens to Seize Western Assets | DW News

Mar 14, 2022 • Russian authorities have threatened foreign companies that are withdrawing from the country with arrests and asset seizures.. that's according to the Wall Street Journal. Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Apple have closed stores in Russia. Procter & Gamble, IBM and others have halted exports to the country. Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would favor putting firms under 'external management'. The Russian government has allegedly threatened to also seize their assets, including intellectual property.

Putin Is “A Sick Man with a Sick Mind,” Says Moscow-based Journalist | Amanpour and Company

Mar 10, 2022 • Independent journalism has been all but silenced in Russia under new censorship laws that make it a crime to call the war a war, or to say Russia is attacking civilian infrastructure. But Yevgenia Albats continues to defy the government’s restrictions. She is editor-in-chief of The New Times magazine, and a radio host at Echo of Moscow – both independent media organizations recently shut down by the Kremlin. She risks imprisonment to join Michel Martin from Moscow and discuss the danger of a misinformation war. Originally aired on March 10, 2022

Facing Economic Calamity, Putin Talks of Nationalizing Western Businesses.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Besieged by an onslaught of sanctions that have largely undone 30 years of economic integration with the West in the space of two weeks, President Vladimir V. Putin on Thursday opened the door to nationalizing the assets of Western companies pulling out of Russia and exhorted senior officials to “act decisively” to preserve jobs.

With Russia in danger of defaulting on its sovereign debt and facing a sharp contraction in its economy, the West is betting that the looming, generation-defining economic crisis could make Russians turn on their president. It is also possible, however, that the crisis could end up strengthening Mr. Putin, validating his narrative that the West is determined to destroy Russia.

“I have no doubt that these sanctions would have been implemented no matter what,” Mr. Putin said in televised remarks on Thursday, arguing that his invasion of Ukraine served merely as a pretext for the West to try to wreck Russia’s economy. “Just as we overcame these difficulties in years past, we will overcome them now, too.”

But the sanctions imposed in the two weeks since the invasion — combined with multinational companies that employ tens of thousands of Russians voluntarily deciding to withdraw amid the global outrage — dwarf any other economic pressure that Russia has faced under Mr. Putin.

With the ruble having lost nearly half its value in the last month, prices of basic goods have risen sharply, causing panic buying at supermarkets. The central bank, which has kept the Moscow stock exchange closed since the war began, has introduced new capital controls, preventing companies from withdrawing more than $5,000 in cash for the next six months. » | Anton Troianovski | Thursday, March 10, 2022

Economy in Crisis: Russia Hit Hard by International Sanctions | DW News

Feb 28, 2022 • Russia's escalating war in Ukraine has prompted unprecedented economic sanctions against the country. Over the weekend, Russian banks were further cut off from the international financial system. Some have been excluded from the SWIFT payments system while moves have been made to stop the Russian central bank using its $630 billion (€562 billion) of foreign reserves. The sanctions are by far the most severe to have been leveled at Russia since the country invaded Ukraine last week. The country's increasing financial and political isolation is already causing significant consequences for the economy, the 11th-largest in the world by GDP.

Russia's currency, the ruble, fell by around 30% to record lows after the latest sanctions, although it did recover a little in recent hours. That compounds massive losses already experienced last week. In response, the Russian central bank has made an emergency decision to hike interest rates from 9.5% to 20%. The bank has also temporarily blocked the sale of securities held by foreigners. The currency collapse has led to long lines outside ATMs across Russia, with fears rising over further plunges in the value of the ruble. On Monday, the central bank announced that the Moscow Stock Exchange would not open. It also said in a statement that it has increased interest rates to support "financial and price stability and protect the savings of citizens from depreciation."

The Ruble Crashes, the Stock Market Closes and Russia’s Economy Staggers under Sanctions.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: MOSCOW — The ruble cratered, the stock market froze and the public rushed to withdraw cash on Monday as Western sanctions kicked in and Russia awoke to uncertainty and fear over the rapidly spreading repercussions of President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

As the day began, Russia’s currency lost as much as a quarter of its value within hours. Scrambling to stem the decline, the Russian Central Bank more than doubled its key interest rate, banned foreigners from selling Russian securities and ordered exporters to convert into rubles most of their foreign-currency revenues. It closed the Moscow stock exchange for the day because of the “developing situation.”

“The economic reality has, of course, changed,” the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters, announcing that Mr. Putin had called an emergency meeting with his top finance officials.

Even as Russian and Ukrainian delegations met for talks at the Belarus border, Moscow’s military offensive showed no sign of letting up, and the hectic moves offered the first signs that the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over the weekend were shaking the foundations of Russia’s economy. The decisions by the United States, Britain and the European Union restricting the Russian Central Bank’s access to much of its $643 billion in foreign currency reserves have undone much of the Kremlin’s careful efforts to soften the impact of potential sanctions. » | Anton Troianovski | Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting. | Monday, February 28, 2022