https://sputniknews.in/20250326/dont-lift-your-sanctions-russia-likes-the-present-state-of-relations-with-the-west-8906993.html
'Don’t Lift Your Sanctions': Russia Likes The Present State Of Relations With The West
'Don’t Lift Your Sanctions': Russia Likes The Present State Of Relations With The West
Sputnik India
It is official by now: Russia started laying down the rules for the future comeback of Western corporations that have deserted the market in 2022 in droves... 26.03.2025, Sputnik India
2025-03-26T12:32+0530
2025-03-26T12:32+0530
2025-03-26T13:21+0530
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Confidential conversations on the subject probably started this past winter, and rumors were buzzing around. Finally, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, mentioned that subject in his speech at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs several days ago.He said that, first, nobody is going to harm the Russian corporations that have replaced foreigners in all kind of fields. Which means that if, say, McDonald’s wants its logo back over hundreds of eateries all over the land, it does not mean that the Russian government will press out of the premises the look-alike domestic hamburger chain that has filled the void.And, second, the President said that the returnees will have to give guarantees of their responsible behavior from now on. The meaning, here, is clear too. If, say, you have supplied the customer with certain equipment, like heating systems for country houses, you cannot leave the people without services and spare parts if you suddenly pull out again. Heating is important for Russia with its winters, you know.That’s it, so far. And what a wonderful story this is. A story that is raising a wave of cold estimates and heated emotions in Russia, with a surprising unanimity of public opinion: don’t lift these sanctions of yours. We tend to like them very much.To repeat, the possibility of lifting Western sanctions have been discussed for several months already, since Russia’s victory in the war is all too clear for everyone to see. Today, only difference is, the public says something like “what, it really happens?”.First came the expert opinions. Mr. David Brown is one of very few Americans doing business with Russia and inside Russia. In an interview to The Expert magazine Mr. Brown reminds us that the US administration may only lift those sanctions that were slapped by executive orders, while in many other cases the procedure needs the Congress’ approval, and may take forever. At the same time, any new administration has a right to revoke any orders of the previous one. In any case, the process of sanction’s removal may strengthen the national currency, but in general will not be felt by the wider public, says Eugene Kogan, an investment banker interviewed by the Moscow Komsomolets.And now for emotions, vented by various personalities from all kind of political groupings. What peace are you talking about, that Trump fellow will eat you up, and forget about sanctions lifted, say the ideologues from the extreme left.Not many people would say such things out loud in Russia, but Mr. Belikov may afford it, since he belongs to vast ranks of those who volunteered for the army and has served his term in Ukraine with honors.In any case, the extreme left may have captured no more that 10-12 per cent of Russian minds, or even less. While 77-80 per cent of the public, while very willing to see the end of hostilities, currently support the government policy. And, imagine that, all that huge majority, answering the relevant question in the opinion polls, is absolutely happy to keep all the current sanctions against Russia firmly in place.Why so? Ms. Victoria Nikiforova, a brilliant playwright and this agency’s columnist, is listing the local businesses happy to leave the things as they are. These are the digital corporations, restaurants, domestic tourism, banking. Other writers add to this list the start-ups in all kind of hi-tech, and many others.Here we have to complement the lady’s opinion with recent hard facts. The sanctions pressing the Western corporations out of Russia were meant, to say it again, to ruin the nation’s economy, to turn the consumer market into a grim desert, so as to incite the people to rebel against the government. The result happens to be the opposite.As the recent statistics show, Russia has outpaced Brazil and Turkey on the list of the G20, biggest economies in the world, by the speed of development. The fastest-growing economy in G20 is of course India, then there are Indonesia and China sharing the second slot, and the third place have now been taken by Russia, with its 4.1 per cent growth of GNP in 2024. While those who tried to kill Russia by sanctions grew at around one per cent or went in the red.But the predominant mood in Russia is not that materialistic, says the already mentioned Ms. Nikiforova. Money, of course, is always an interesting subject, and here Victoria reminds us about the Starbucks coffee empire, allegedly discussing its return to Russia today and discovering that it’ll have to pay ten times as much as it got for selling its business in Russia in 2022.But it’s not only about the money. The general mood is of cold disgust to those who left the Russian market, obeying sanctions or being afraid of reprisals. The big idea is, who the hell do you think you are, first hoping to punish us with your departure, and then wanting to come back as if nothing happened? No, my friends, if you want back, you’ll have to pay and apologize.And so the public is compiling a long unofficial list of conditions for those who left and now want to return. Like, we’ll only accept the ones who will transfer technologies to Russia, to prevent them from yet another desertion. Or, another popular condition, these returnees may only get back, if they participate in development of Russia’s new territories, the ones that used to be Ukrainian, but have voted to get back to Russia.These territories have been ruined by Ukraine’s predatory politics long ago, and devastated by Kiev that began a civil war there years before 2022. So if a Western corporation wants to restore the trust and respect in today’s Russia, it will have to do it by going to the new territories first.You know, that’s not a bad idea at all.Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
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'Don’t Lift Your Sanctions': Russia Likes The Present State Of Relations With The West
12:32 26.03.2025 (Updated: 13:21 26.03.2025) It is official by now: Russia started laying down the rules for the future comeback of Western corporations that have deserted the market in 2022 in droves, obeying sanctions devised to strangle the Russian economy after the start of the war in Ukraine.
Confidential conversations on the subject probably started this past winter, and rumors were buzzing around. Finally, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, mentioned that subject in his speech at the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs several days ago.
He said that, first, nobody is going to harm the Russian corporations that have replaced foreigners in all kind of fields. Which means that if, say, McDonald’s wants its logo back over hundreds of eateries all over the land, it does not mean that the Russian government will press out of the premises the look-alike domestic hamburger chain that has filled the void.
And, second, the President said that the returnees will have to give guarantees of their responsible behavior from now on. The meaning, here, is clear too. If, say, you have supplied the customer with certain equipment, like heating systems for country houses, you cannot leave the people without services and spare parts if you suddenly pull out again. Heating is important for Russia with its winters, you know.
The latest news here is as such: the Ministry of Finance is compiling the list of obligations of foreign companies returning to the Russian market. It won’t be fast, since other ministries have to give their input, too. So, the ones who want to be back will have to wait for the rules to be laid before them.
That’s it, so far. And what a wonderful story this is. A story that is raising a wave of cold estimates and heated emotions in Russia, with a surprising unanimity of public opinion: don’t lift these sanctions of yours. We tend to like them very much.
To repeat, the possibility of lifting Western sanctions have been discussed for several months already, since Russia’s victory in the war is all too clear for everyone to see. Today, only difference is, the public says something like “what, it really happens?”.
First came the expert opinions. Mr. David Brown is one of very few Americans doing business with Russia and inside Russia. In an interview to The Expert magazine Mr. Brown reminds us that the US administration may only lift those sanctions that were slapped by executive orders, while in many other cases the procedure needs the Congress’ approval, and may take forever. At the same time, any new administration has a right to revoke any orders of the previous one. In any case, the process of sanction’s removal may strengthen the national currency, but in general will not be felt by the wider public, says Eugene Kogan, an investment banker interviewed by the Moscow Komsomolets.
And now for emotions, vented by various personalities from all kind of political groupings. What peace are you talking about, that Trump fellow will eat you up, and forget about sanctions lifted, say the ideologues from the extreme left.
“These folks belong to a whole layer or people, feeding off that war”, retorts Mr. Anton Belikov, and artist and philosopher. “They know that the end of war is the end of their career, so they’ll do anything to protract that war”.
Not many people would say such things out loud in Russia, but Mr. Belikov may afford it, since he belongs to vast ranks of those who volunteered for the army and has served his term in Ukraine with honors.
In any case, the extreme left may have captured no more that 10-12 per cent of Russian minds, or even less. While 77-80 per cent of the public, while very willing to see the end of hostilities, currently support the government policy. And, imagine that, all that huge majority, answering the relevant question in the opinion polls, is absolutely happy to keep all the current sanctions against Russia firmly in place.
Why so? Ms. Victoria Nikiforova, a brilliant playwright and this agency’s columnist, is listing the local businesses happy to leave the things as they are. These are the digital corporations, restaurants, domestic tourism, banking. Other writers add to this list the start-ups in all kind of hi-tech, and many others.
Here we have to complement the lady’s opinion with recent hard facts. The sanctions pressing the Western corporations out of Russia were meant, to say it again, to ruin the nation’s economy, to turn the consumer market into a grim desert, so as to incite the people to rebel against the government. The result happens to be the opposite.
As the recent statistics show, Russia has outpaced Brazil and Turkey on the list of the G20, biggest economies in the world, by the speed of development. The fastest-growing economy in G20 is of course India, then there are Indonesia and China sharing the second slot, and the third place have now been taken by Russia, with its 4.1 per cent growth of GNP in 2024. While those who tried to kill Russia by sanctions grew at around one per cent or went in the red.
So, the logic is clear: if life under sanctions have brought us such a result, why would we want to go back to 2022?
But the predominant mood in Russia is not that materialistic, says the already mentioned Ms. Nikiforova. Money, of course, is always an interesting subject, and here Victoria reminds us about the Starbucks coffee empire, allegedly discussing its return to Russia today and discovering that it’ll have to pay ten times as much as it got for selling its business in Russia in 2022.
But it’s not only about the money. The general mood is of cold disgust to those who left the Russian market, obeying sanctions or being afraid of reprisals. The big idea is, who the hell do you think you are, first hoping to punish us with your departure, and then wanting to come back as if nothing happened? No, my friends, if you want back, you’ll have to pay and apologize.
And so the public is compiling a long unofficial list of conditions for those who left and now want to return. Like, we’ll only accept the ones who will transfer technologies to Russia, to prevent them from yet another desertion. Or, another popular condition, these returnees may only get back, if they participate in development of Russia’s new territories, the ones that used to be Ukrainian, but have voted to get back to Russia.
These territories have been ruined by Ukraine’s predatory politics long ago, and devastated by Kiev that began a civil war there years before 2022. So if a Western corporation wants to restore the trust and respect in today’s Russia, it will have to do it by going to the new territories first.
You know, that’s not a bad idea at all.
Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
