RussiaGate #Digest

2022-06-23 16:42:12 Nike is making a full exit from Russia, suspending all operations in the country.

It is mostly a symbolic move, for Nike has been getting less than 1% of its revenues from Russian market. Still it's important to understand that the departure of almost all Western companies from Russia is strictly a business move.

Hope Russians won't even try to replace Nike with something home-raised like they are trying to do with McDonalds. It would be horrible. Open / Comment

2022-06-23 13:05:29 India is providing safety certification for dozens of ships managed by a Dubai subsidiary of Russian shipping group Sovcomflot, which is used to deliver Russian crude to India.

Dehli has sharply boosted Russian crude oil purchases in recent months, taking full advantage of sanctions and buying Russian crude with a heavy discount.

Dubai, on the other hand, is also benefitting from Russia's operation in Ukraine and Western sanctions, becoming a haven for Russian sanctioned oligarchs and entities, like Sovkomflot or various oil traders. Open / Comment

2022-06-22 17:13:15 Vladimir Putin signed a decree "allowing" Russia to pay its foreign debt in rubles.

Russia is defaulting. Open / Comment

2022-06-22 17:07:38 We are closely following the Kaliningrad case which will be an important feature of the ongoing crisis.

One interesting thing about Kaliningrad is its gas supply through the pipeline going from Minsk to Lithuanian Vilnius, Kaunas and further to the Russian exclave.

So, basically Lithuania can cut the gas supply to Kaliningrad creating even a bigger problem for Kremlin.

For decades Moscow was busy building all kinds of pipelines to Europe including sea projects like Nord Stream and Nord Stream II. Nobody bothered though to think about Russian citizens living in Kaliningrad. Open / Comment

2022-06-22 13:22:17 Leaked emails from Russia’s top petrochemical company Sibur show that the company rented a luxury villa in the Gulf of Finland that has been used by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a new investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

Sibur is denying the allegations, but what can they do other than that?

The concept of "Russkiy Mir" is not about people or culture, it's about inequality and corruption. That's what Russia actually represents. Open / Comment

2022-06-21 14:43:26 Two Russian state-owned majors Sberbank and VTB suspended transfers of foreign currency with other Russian banks.

The soft confiscation of currency in Russia goes on, with rouble course being a major problem for the budget. Open / Comment

2022-06-21 13:17:59 "There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare".

"Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces;
the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities".

We can see as Kremlin ignores basic rules of war written down by Sun Tzu. The whole campaign has become a lasting affair with slow, bloody sieges of cities, towns and even villages. Open / Comment

2022-06-20 16:19:55 Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Lithuania’s top envoy in Moscow and demanded Vilnius to lift its ban on transit to Russian enclave Kaliningrad.

Otherwise, according to MFA, Russia reserves the right to take actions to protect its national interests.

Kaliningrad is blocked. What is Russia going to do, attack a NATO state?

The possibility of the move on Kaliningrad appeared to be too much for Kremlin to think about. Open / Comment

2022-06-20 15:54:59 Lithuanian authorities have banned the transit through their territory of goods to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad that are subject to European Union sanctions, which already drew some fierce reaction in Russia.

The inability of Russian leadership to play strategies is really remarkable.

This conflict will last. If NATO really decides to raise stakes or Russia does something outrageous, it will be impossible for Kremlin to maintain its presence in former Prussia. Kaliningrad will be lost real quick.

Lithuania's ban creates great problems for the regions and its supply chains. Open / Comment

2022-06-20 13:48:07 Kazakh President Tokayev left Russian public shook after St.Petersburg Forum for no reason whatsoever.

Being a smart human being, Tokayev said nothing special: Kazakhstan won't recognize republics of Donbass, there cannot be any "sovereign" economy in modern world etc.

He said it with Putin sitting right by his side. Russia is not about ratio or common sense, it's about emotions and symbols. Putin is depicted by Russian propaganda as "a great, feared leader".

Tokayev showed that Putin is feared by nobody which has drawn some emotional reactions from Ramzan Kadyrov and MP Konstantin Zatulin.

Both were overturned by one of the main Russian actors in Donbass - Andrei Turchak. Turchak basically told Zatulin to take care of his own business and leave foreign policy matters to the President, but this was also a message to Kadyrov.

Not from Turchak personally, but by the group he is representing. Open / Comment