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Russia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Russian region declares itself ‘carbon neutral'
The Russian Far East's Sakhalin Region has achieved carbon neutrality, reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, Governor Valery Limarenko has announced. He made the statement on Saturday at the 'Islands of Growth' international climate forum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The event took place last week and brought together leading experts in the field, as well as officials from BRICS nations and the Asia-Pacific region. 'Sakhalin Region became the first region in Russia where the removal of greenhouse gases exceeded their emissions according to the official regional inventory,' Limarenko said. 'We fulfilled the president's order and proved that the transition to a low-carbon economy is possible without compromising growth and with industrial development,' he wrote on Telegram after the event. The goal was reached 'a year ahead of schedule,' he added. In 2022, Moscow launched an experiment aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in Sakhalin Region by the end of this year. Dozens of companies took part, forming a system of reporting greenhouse gas production, and for working with a carbon market of government quotas for CO2 emissions. The climate agenda affects the 'competitiveness of Russian products abroad,' Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said at the forum last week. Moscow could take 'leading positions' in low-carbon-footprint industries such as aluminum, lithium, and fertilizer production, as well as nuclear and hydroelectric power, he said. The success of the Sakhalin experiment means it could be repeated in other regions of the country if they show interest, Reshetnikov added. The Yakutia Republic, also in the Russian Far East, is considering becoming the next region to pursue carbon neutrality. The regional government has tasked several research centers with calculating the region's carbon balance in preparation, according to the first deputy chairman of the republic, Dzhulustan Borisov.
American Military News
06-07-2025
- Business
- American Military News
Russia's War Economy Is Heading To Recession. It Probably Won't Slow Down The War.
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. At Russia's annual marquee event for business investment, a Kremlin-funded bubbly celebration of promise and opportunity, the country's top economic minister poured cold war on the party. 'According to the numbers, yes, we've got a cooling down now,' Maksim Reshetnikov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. 'Based on current business sentiment, it seems to me we are on the brink of transitioning into recession.' If that wasn't enough of a damper, the head of the Russian Central Bank seconded the downbeat sentiment. 'We have been growing for two years at a fairly high rate due to the fact that free labor resources were used,' Elvira Nabiullina said during the same panel discussion on June 19. 'But we need to understand that many of these resources have really been exhausted. We need to think about a new model for growth.' And there was also this from German Gref, the head of the state-owned banking giant Sberbank, on the sidelines of the forum: 'We are colliding with a large number of problems, which today we can call a perfect storm.' For more than 40 months now, since the start of the all-out invasion of Ukraine, Russia's economy has been on a war footing, growing at a robust — at times torrid — rate, and showing resilience — unexpected to many Western experts — in the face of punishing sanctions. People walk past an exchange office screen showing the exchange rates of the U.S. dollar to the Russian ruble in St. Petersburg, Russia, in April ALSO: In Russia's War Economy, The Warning Lights Are Blinking The Kremlin has retooled the economy to power its war, pouring money into defense industries to churn out guns, tanks, drones, and uniforms. It's poured money into wages for defense industry workers and paid soldiers sky-high salaries and benefits to entice them to fight in Ukraine. That's transformed local economies in many of the country's poorer, remote regions, and also bought support for the conflict. But high wages have fueled inflation, and Nabiullina hiked the key interest rate to 21 percent in October to try and tamp it down. Despite public complaints from the country's industrial lobby, she has held firm, committed to slowing inflation and downshifting the economy. It's working, and now Russia is facing the first significant economic slowdown since the start of the full-scale war. 'I think a lot of indicators point to growth stopping, or close to it,' said Iikka Korhonen, head of research at the Bank of Finland's Institute for Emerging Economies. 'Manufacturing is still growing, but most other things are not.' 'For two years [the] Russian economy was overheated and growing at a pace way above its normal growth rate,' said Alexander Kolyandr, an economics expert with the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington. 'So what's happening now is the economy returns to where it should be. For the moment it stands as a correction, coming back to the long-term growth rate.' 'The main challenge for the government at this point is to make this a soft landing, rather than a complete collapse,' he said. With the Russian war effort now in full flow, millions of Russians have been working in factories, manning around-the-clock shifts. (file photo)SEE ALSO:For Some In Russia's Far-Flung Provinces, Ukraine War Is A Ticket To ProsperityWhat Comes Next? Russia's gross domestic product grew by 1.4 percent in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2024, according to government statistics. In the last six months of 2024, however, the economy was humming along — with average growth of around 4.4 percent. Official estimates now forecast GDP growth at around 2 percent in 2025. The International Monetary Fund predicts even lower growth — 1.5 percent. The unemployment rate stands at a historic low of around 2.3 percent, underscoring how distorted the labor market has become as men are drawn away from civilian jobs to fight in Ukraine. Faced with inflation running at over 10 percent in the first half of 2025, Nabiullina has warned repeatedly about an 'overheated economy.' In early June, she engineered a small rate cut, to 20 percent, which experts called largely symbolic. But the impact of the high interest rate is showing up in official statistics, according to data and forecasts from the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting, a government-linked research group. For some in the Kremlin, a soft landing would be a welcome correction to the two torrid previous years. The danger is if it becomes a hard landing. 'By keeping the key rate very high, despite the state continuously pumping money into the economy, they have been able to achieve economic slowdown,' said Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow in the Russia program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. The Kremlin has sought to avoid any mass mobilization of Russian men to fight in Ukraine. A September 2022 order for a partial mobilization was widely ALSO: More War, Less Money: What A Cut In Signing Bonuses May Reveal About Russia's Fight In Ukraine 'It's unclear how sustainable the situation is for the Kremlin if the economy is actually declining. It's not something that they want either,' she said during an online discussion on June 17. 'In general, the Russian macroeconomic team seems to be quite concerned.' What this means politically is harder to predict. So far, President Vladimir Putin has given Nabiullina and other top economic officials his blessing for their handling of the economy. A day after the panel discussion at the St. Petersburg forum, Putin weighed in himself, with a cautionary note in a speech at the business forum: 'Some specialists, experts, point to the risks of stagnation and even recession,' he said. 'Of course, this should not be allowed under any circumstances.' 'Our most important task this year is to transition the economy to balanced growth,' Putin said. President Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June Vladimir Putin applauds during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 20. With other parts of the economy crimped by sanctions, Kremlin coffers are even more heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues than they have been in the past. But oil prices have fallen since the beginning of the year, and the Finance Ministry has lowered its forecast for oil-linked revenues for 2025. 'Unless we see a decline in oil prices, [or] some significant increase in sanctions enforcement, and an overall decline in civilian production, then I think there will be a soft landing,' Kolyandr said. Balanced — or slower — growth will ripple through the economy, putting a brake on wage growth. It will also crimp household budgets at a time when Russians have been accustomed to fatter wallets, which could fuel discontent. A growing number of companies and factories are also falling behind in wage and salary payments to workers, according to the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. And a growing number of regions have started cutting recruitment bonuses for new volunteer soldiers — a trend that reflects worsening economic conditions on a local level. Still, Putin seems determined to push forward in the war — even faced with eyewatering casualty rates that are approaching 1 million men killed or wounded. The government plans on spending about 13.1 trillion rubles ($144 billion) on defense- and security-related expenditures in 2025. That's 6.3 percent of its GDP, one of the highest levels since the Soviet era. 'Unfortunately, yes, this war will not stop for economic reasons, and Russia can continue to produce [weaponry] at the current level for quite a while,' Korhonen said. 'The only economic factor that could really hamper Russia's war effort is the price of oil.'
Russia Today
20-06-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Russia on verge of recession
Russia's economy is on the brink of entering a recession, Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov warned on Thursday. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia's economy has operated under unprecedented Western sanctions aimed at isolating the country. Despite the restrictions, it has shown resilience, outperforming forecasts. GDP grew by 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024, making Russia the world's fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity (PPP), which adjusts for cost-of-living differences across countries. 'The figures show a cooling, but all our data is essentially a rearview mirror,' Reshetnikov said during a panel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025). 'Based on current business sentiment and indicators, we are, in my view, already on the brink of entering a recession.' The minister stressed that a recession was not a foregone conclusion, later telling reporters that whether it could be avoided would largely hinge on policy choices, particularly interest rate decisions. 'I didn't predict a recession. I said we're on the brink. From here on out, everything will depend on our decisions,' he said. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov described the state of Russia's economy as 'cooling,' but assured that 'summer always follows winter.' Central Bank Head Elvira Nabiullina characterized the current phase as an 'exit from overheating.' 'Our demand-side economy was expanding, while the supply side lagged behind — that's what caused the overheating and inflation. It's fairly straightforward,' she explained. Earlier this month, the Bank of Russia cut its key interest rate by 100 basis points to 20%, citing a slowdown in inflation. It marked the first rate reduction since 2022 when the central bank adopted a tight monetary policy to stabilize the economy amid a wave of Western sanctions. The central bank projects that Russia's economic growth will slow to 1-2% in 2025, down from 4.1% in 2024, as a result of its monetary policy, while the government maintains a more optimistic outlook, expecting growth of 2.5% next year.
Russia Today
14-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
Trade between Russia and Tanzania rising sharply
Trade between Russia and Tanzania has increased by 20% since the beginning of 2025, with Russian exports to the East African country growing by a quarter, TASS reported on Tuesday, citing data discussed at a joint Moscow-Dar es Salaam economic cooperation meeting in St. Petersburg. The surge has been driven largely by outbound shipments of wheat, meslin, and fertilizers, while tobacco raw materials, coffee, tea, and fruit remain key imports from Tanzania, Russian Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said. 'After last year's decline in trade turnover, we managed to increase figures by 20% in January-February this year,' Reshetnikov stated, summarizing the outcome of the plenary session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzanian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Russia and Tanzania have maintained diplomatic relations since 1961, with cooperation spanning education, energy, defense, and infrastructure. During a two-day meeting in St. Petersburg from May 12–13, officials from both countries agreed to deepen joint efforts in trade, logistics, transport, energy, agriculture, investment, tourism, and education. According to Reshetnikov, Russian fertilizer producers are ready to increase shipments to Tanzania, which imports over 90% of its annual 700,000-tonne compost requirement. Russian entrepreneurs are keen to support the efficient use of mineral fertilizers and are willing to train Tanzanian partners in advanced agronomic practices, the minister added. The talks also touched on pharmaceutical cooperation, including the possibility of Russian businesses localizing production of diagnostic test kits and vaccines to serve the Tanzanian market. Moscow and Dar es Salaam are working to implement a bilateral air service agreement signed in June of last year, which aims to resume direct flights between the two countries. Prior to the suspension of flights in 2021, several Russian airlines operated flights to the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar, with official statistics indicating that approximately 6,300 Russian nationals visited Tanzania in 2019, including 4,000 tourists. 'In tourism, the top priority is to resume direct air connections. It is essential to finalize all procedures as quickly as possible to bring the agreement into effect,' Reshetnikov stated.
See - Sada Elbalad
23-02-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Russia Signs MOU to Build Port, Oil Refinery in Myanmar
Russia's Ministry of Economic Development announced on Sunday the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Myanmar. The agreement, set in Myanmar's Dawei Special Economic Zone, paves the way for major joint infrastructure projects, including the construction of a modern port, a coal-fired thermal power plant, and an oil refinery. The MOU was signed by Russia's Minister of Economic Development, Maksim Reshetnikov, and Myanmar's Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations, Kan Zaw, during a visit by a Russian delegation to the Southeast Asian nation. This cooperation marks a deepening of ties, with Russia emerging as one of Myanmar's closest allies following the military coup that ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. According to the official statement, the memorandum outlines the key criteria for several major infrastructure and energy projects to be executed jointly with Russian companies in Myanmar. Reshetnikov stated, 'The MOU contains the fundamental standards for a number of major projects in infrastructure and energy.' While plans include building a port and a coal-fired power station, he noted that the oil refinery project remains under detailed economic review due to its complexity. Interfax further reported that Russian companies are still evaluating the economic feasibility of the refinery, given the challenging nature of the project. The Dawei Special Economic Zone, spanning 196 square kilometers along the Andaman Sea, is designed to host high-tech industrial zones, transport hubs, IT centers, and export processing facilities
