Latest updates, insights, and analysis.
Russia’s Pivot to Asia has been discussing the use of different currencies in different ways since the United States threatened Chinese banks with sanctions. In addition to that issue, Russia also has problems balancing trade with India, which has skyrocketed with Delhi’s increasing purchases of Russia energy. However, bilateral trade isn’t that mature yet and […]
The Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) railroad is one of the biggest infrastructures of the 20th century and will be further developed to expand Russia’s export and transit capabilities and to raise living standards for Russians living nearby, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (April 23). The BAM is a broad-gauge railway, traversing Eastern Siberia and […]
With Western nations increasingly making life difficult for Russian tourists, Russian nationals have been looking east for vacations, with Asia the main beneficiary. Russians for example are now the largest inbound tourist market for Sri Lanka. But other important destinations are also looking at expanding mutual tourism ties. Iran and Russia are also working together […]
Sri Lanka intends to formally seek membership of the BRICS group of nations, Janitha Abeywickrema Liyanage, the country’s ambassador to Russia announced today (April 24). She confirmed that “Sri Lanka is planning to join BRICS+” and expressed hope that accession would provide “an opportunity to ensure both transport and food security.” The BRICS group of […]
The flow of cargo traffic via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) may reach up to 60-100 million tonnes in the future, depending on necessity and relevance, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev has said. To put that into context, this would be roughly equivalent to 10% of the global tonnage that transited the Suez Canal […]
Norilsk Nickel, the metals group controlled by Russia’s richest man Vladimir Potanin, will move some copper smelting production from its home country to China, as western sanctions restrict access to key pieces of equipment and cut profitability, the Financial Times reports. Potanin said that the mining major plans to relocate its copper smelting capacity at […]
The Russian container market grew 13% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, to 1.608 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), Russia’s FESCO transport group has said. The figures are indicative of expanding import-export trade. Imports increased 10% to 706,000 TEU, and exports were up 13% to 436,000 TEU. Domestic […]
Iran could start accepting Russian MIR debit and credit cards within the next few months, the trade attaché from Tehran’s embassy in Moscow has stated. According to Mohsen Rahimi, work on preparing the necessary technical infrastructure is already underway, although implementing the system will take time. The move comes as Russia and Iran continue to […]
Meetings took place last Friday between Alexei Tsydenov, the Governor of the Russian Republic of Buryatia, Buyaagiiin Tulga, a Mongolian Minister and the Chairman of the National Committee for the Revival of Border Points. The meetings focused on improving cross-border connectivity as Mongolia is shortly to engage in a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian […]
An unannounced, but effective partition of Ukraine is already taking place as Russia and the European Union have begun to deploy differing Rail infrastructure. Ukraine’s rail infrastructure has historically used the Russian gauge, which is 1,520 mm wide. However, Europe’s railways run on standard gauge, being 1,435 mm. The difference means tracks and bogies are […]
The United States House of Representatives cleared two important pieces of legislation over this weekend, both of which will affect Russia. Firstly, approval was given to extend an additional US$61 billion in loans to Ukraine, while the “Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians (REPO) Act approves the diverting of profits from Russian government capital […]
It is not being mentioned in French media, however 2024 is proving to be a year where France is being effectively evicted from its African colonial ‘possessions’ and being replaced with rather stronger leaders, often supported by their military, who have increasingly turned to Russia for support. We have already commented on the position and […]
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