Trade News & Analysis

Trade

Russia’s total trade reached about US$745 billion during 2025, also showcasing a significant, albeit shifting, trade surplus of about US$120 billion. In this section we cover all news concerning Russian trade developments, with Russian exporters increasingly reaching out into new markets on a global basis as it pivots away from the West. This is the definitive source on Russian trade. Get the latest data, analysis, and news on Russia’s import/export activities, trade agreements, and increasing commercial partnerships with the Global South.

Featured February 25, 2026

Disused Russia-China Railway Closed For 25 Years Is To Be Reopened In 2026

The relaunch of railway transport along the Skovorodino-Reynovo railway line is scheduled for 2026, according to Alexey Mestnikov, the Deputy General Director for Strategic Development of Yakutia Railways. This railway line leads to the Dzhalinda mixed checkpoint on the border with China and was mothballed in the early 2000s due to low freight traffic. Now […]

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Featured February 25, 2026

Russia Remains Türkiye’s Largest Energy Supplier As Further Development Talks Take Place In Istanbul

The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar have been discussing additional prospects for cooperation in their bilateral oil and gas, as well as the development of nuclear energy, at meetings held in Istanbul. Novak stressed Türkiye’s important role as a transit country for oil and gas […]

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February 25, 2026

Putin Meets With Vietnamese Foreign Minister In Moscow

The Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung in Moscow on Tuesday (February 24), stating that “Our bilateral relations have been developing positively, and trade has been growing. We have substantive, candid dialogue on every issue, including political dimensions.” Vietnam has a free trade agreement with Russia via the Eurasian […]

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February 24, 2026

India Extends Russian Maritime Insurance Accreditation 

The Indian shipping regulator has extended the accreditation of four Russian companies providing Protection and Indemnity (P&I) insurance for vessels calling at the country’s ports for one month, according to the Indian Directorate General of Shipping. Russian insurers Soglasie, Yugoria, Sberbank Insurance, and ASTK Insurance have all had their insurance licenses extended to 20 March […]

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February 24, 2026

Russia and Belarus Plan To Introduce Cross-Border Suburban Rail Services

Russia and Belarus are planning to launch cross-border suburban trains, which will operate on the basis of free movement within the Eurasian Economic Union, according to Alexander Khoroshevich, First Deputy Head of the Belarusian Railways. Citizens of both countries and foreigners holding residence visas of either may use the cross-border service without needing to pass […]

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February 23, 2026

Proposals Made To Convert All of Siberia Into A Unified Special Economic Zone 

The creation of a unified Special Economic Zone (SEZ) covering the entire Siberian Federal District, with common tax and investment preferences for each region within it, could become a driver for Siberian development, according to Elena Bezdenezhnykh, the vice president of JSC Rusal Management. She said that “We have 59 SEZs in the country. The […]

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February 23, 2026

First Cryptocurrency Transactions Could Be Made In Russia During 2026

The first cryptocurrency transactions could be conducted in normal Russian domestic transactions by the end of this year if the corresponding law is passed, according to Ekaterina Lozgacheva, the head of the Central Bank of Russia’s financial market strategic development department. She said that “We expect that in the near future, when the draft bill […]

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February 23, 2026

Russian Polymer Manufacturer To Set Up Production in Kazakhstan

The Russian company MK-Polymer , a resident company of the Seversk development territory in the Tomsk Region, supplied a batch of ethylene-propylene rubber to Kazenergokabel, the largest cable factory in Kazakhstan, and conducted operational tests on it, the company said. The joint work was aimed at testing the use of new materials in cable production. […]

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February 21, 2026

Russia’s New Entrepreneurs—Expanding Into Central Asia

Part Two of a Seven-Part Series in which we document the rise of the new outbound Russian entrepreneurial investor. From 2022 onward, Russia’s entrepreneurs and companies have been reshaping their foreign economic engagements in response to geopolitical realignments. As Western sanctions constrained access to traditional Western markets, Russia’s business community began to seek deeper footholds […]

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February 20, 2026

FESCO Transports Record Volumes Of Railway Containers & Goods From Asia

Russia’s FESCO transportation group has achieved a new weekly record volume of railway container transport from the Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port. From 9 to 15 February, 6,767 TEU were sent from VMTP as part of 45 container trains. This is 62 TEU more than the previous weekly maximum achieved in August 2024. FESCO stated that […]

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February 20, 2026

Russia’s FESCO Launches Maritime Shipping Route To Cambodia

Russia’s FESCO Transport Group has launched container shipping between Cambodia and Russia as part of expanding its maritime services, the company has said. Cambodia is in Southeast Asia and a member of the ASEAN trade bloc. It is also in the process of negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which […]

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