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☆ Navalny's top aide says Ukraine war shows Putin is crazier than previously thought, warning the Russian leader is not 'in touch with reality'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Navalny's top aide told the Guardian that Ukraine shows Putin is crazier than they thought. But Navalny's top aide, Leonid Volkov, told the Guardian that Putin's handling of the Ukraine war has changed their view of the Russian leader. The war in Ukraine has largely made Putin an international pariah, while isolating Russia both economically and politically. But if Putin ever turns to negotiations to end the war, Volkov is hopeful that Navalny could be seen as a bargaining chip. In tweets via an intermediary, Navalny urged people to campaign against the Ukraine war and Putin "at every opportunity."

☆ Thailand still wants Russian tourists – and direct flights are making it easy to get to Phuket
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Direct flights between Russia and Thailand's largest island, Phuket, resumed on October 30. On the same day, the Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot restarted direct flights to Thailand, India, and the Maldives. In January, 24,000 Russian tourists arrived in Phuket. Now that direct flights have returned, Russian airlines are fast expanding their routes to Thailand, according to The Thaiger. The country aims to welcome 1 million Russian tourists in 2022, per DW, with numbers forecast to peak in the coming winter as Russians trade cold for tropical beaches.

☆ Russian Pulp Business Is Still Delivering for International Paper
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Ryan Dezember | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Russia has been a big cause of corporate losses since it invaded Ukraine, prompting companies to cut ties. At International Paper Co., however, Russia remains a major source of cash and an important contributor to the dividend that draws investors to its shares. Companies were filing out of Russia in March when IP said it would explore options, including a sale, for its 50% stake in Ilim Group, a pulp and paper giant with government license to log swaths of Siberia and the western taiga that add up to about the size of South Carolina.

☆ After big losses in Ukraine, Putin skipped an awkward global summit and has been conspicuously quiet about the war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Instead, his spokesman issued a statement insisting that Kherson remained Russian territory despite the Ukrainian flag hoisted above its central square. The conference was dominated by discussion of the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy made an address to the summit, by special invitation as Ukraine is not a member, unlike Russia. Russia's next move after the loss of Kherson did soon become apparent — but not from anything Putin did in public. On Tuesday, a salvo of missiles fell on cities across Ukraine, the largest barrage in more than a month.

☆ A Guide to Skiing in Japan: 5 Getaways for Powderheads of Every Stripe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Janet O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CHERRY-BLOSSOM season in Japan has its devotees, but, as countless ski snobs are bound to tell you, the country’s other prime time is the dead of winter. According to the website SnowJapan, the tiny, mountainous archipelago is packed with some 450 ski areas—almost the same number you’ll find throughout the U.S. The northern island of Hokkaido and the central Nagano prefecture—both former hosts of the Winter Olympics—harbor the majority of ski destinations, which range from small family-owned hills to splashy multi-mountain resorts. What many of these spots have in common is “Japow,” the nickname (abbreviated from “Japan Powder”) for the abundant, feather-light snow that rolls in from Siberia via storms over the Sea of Japan. But their off-slope offerings are also a big draw: soaking in a hot spring, downing a flight of sake, slurping up ramen or a shabu-shabu hot pot.

☆ Japanese Ski Getaways for Powderheads of Every Stripe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Janet O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ How Sergei Shoigu went from Putin's wilderness bestie to the scapegoat for Russia's failures in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Shoigu was born in 1955 in the remote town of Chadan in Siberia. The Soviet Union was a world power and the Cold War just beginning. A man outside the former central temple for Buddhists of Tuva, near the settlement of Chadan, in Russia's Tuva region. Ilya Naymushin/ReutersThe town is close to the Mongolian border. Shoigu's mother was Russian but born in Ukraine, while his father was Tuvan — an ethnic group that is indigenous to Siberia.

☆ Europe Cuts Addiction to Russian Energy, Yet Fuel Scramble Continues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Georgi Kantchev | Joe Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SCHWEDT, Germany—Europe’s dependence on Russian energy is drawing to a close, ending a decadeslong power imbalance and leaving the continent racing to squirrel away fuels and find alternative supplies. The final act of separation: On Sunday, the European Union and the U.K. will bar imports of Russian fuels such as diesel and gasoline. The move follows a ban on Russian crude imports in December. Coal imports stopped last summer. Natural-gas flows from Siberia, once the lifeblood of European industry, have dwindled.

☆ The Music of Inuit Art
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Peter Saenger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

In the Inuit language, tusarnitut means “sounds that please the ear.” It’s a fitting title for a new exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts focused on the power of songs and music in Inuit art. “TUSARNITUT! Music Born of the Cold,” opening on Nov. 10, juxtaposes prints, drawings and installations by modern and contemporary artists with musical instruments and field recordings. Today, more than 180,000 Inuit live in a band of northern territory stretching from Eastern Siberia through Alaska, Canada and Greenland. In the traditionally male art of drum dancing, performers use drums of seal or caribou skin to celebrate important events like births, marriages or successful hunts, as well as to honor the dead.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Russia's finance ministry cuts 2023 taxable oil expectations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Of this, refining volumes were revised down by 56 million tonnes, or almost 20%, to 230.1 million tonnes from 286.1 million tonnes seen in previous forecast. Oil exports, eligible for exports duty, are expected at 178.2 million tonnes, down 19.4% from the earlier made projections. "The estimate for 2022 was reduced to 515 million tonnes, in 2023 to 490 million tonnes. In 2024-2025, the level of oil production will average about 500 million tonnes," it said. So far, Russian oil production, the third-largest after the United States and Saudi Arabia, has been resilient to sanctions, buoyed by rising sales to China and India. .

☆ China could be set for even more Russian gas as Gazprom begins testing a key supply hub to reroute energy from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's state-run Gazprom said Tuesday it is testing gas supplies in Kovykta, a key hub in east Siberia, per Reuters. According to the report, Gazprom said Kovykta and new gas transport operations are set to come online in December. Those flows would head to China via the Power of Siberia pipeline and continue Moscow's efforts to reroute natural gas away from Europe. At the end of 2019, Gazprom begin delivering gas to China out of the Chanayda field, which also uses the Power of Siberia. In 2020, the state-run energy giant sent 4.1 billion cubic meters of gas to China, then 11 billion in 2021.

☆ Gazprom starts testing gas supplies from Kovykta field to China's pipeline
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Gazprom started delivering gas from the Chanayda field to China at the end of 2019. Both Chanayda and Kovykta feed the Power of Siberia pipeline which has a nameplate capacity of 38 billion cubic metres (bcm) per year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGazprom said Kovykta and new gas transportation facilities are expected to come onstream in December. Gazprom exported 4.1 bcm of gas to China in 2020, rising to around 11 bcm in 2021 and expected to reach 22 bcm in 2023. Earlier this month Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the Power of Siberia will reach full capacity in 2027, two years later than planned.

☆ Russian oil supplies to China up 22% on year, close second to Saudi - data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Chen Aizhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The amount, equivalent to 1.82 million barrels per day (bpd), eased from 1.96 million bpd in August and compared to the record high of nearly 2 million bpd in May. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterImports from top supplier Saudi Arabia reached 7.53 million tonnes, or 1.83 million bpd, versus August's 1.99 million bpd and were 5.4% lower than a year earlier. Russian volumes rose nearly 9% to 64.26 million tonnes, a close second. That surpassed the previous record set in August of 3.37 million tonnes. China also received about 795,000 tonnes of U.S. crude oil in September, after zero imports in August.

☆ Russian jets have crashed into apartment buildings twice in less than a week, highlighting Putin's military struggles at home
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Russian warplane crashed in Siberia on Sunday, killing both pilots. The crash was the second time in less than a week a Russian military aircraft slammed into a residential area, causing fatalities. The deadly crashes come as Russia's military also struggles abroad in its fight in Ukraine. It's the second time in less than a week that a Russian warplane crashed into a residential area, resulting in fatalities. Some casualty estimates for the Russian military in Ukraine are as high as 90,000.

☆ Russia's Navalny says he faces new criminal case for 'promoting terrorism'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said on Thursday that authorities had opened a new criminal case against him for promoting terrorism and extremism, potentially more than doubling his sentence. After months of medical treatment in Germany, he was arrested for parole violations when he returned to Russia at the start of 2021. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has accelerated its campaign to quash and silence domestic opposition. Navalny has spoken out against the war, attacking Putin during a court appearance and calling the invasion "stupid" and "built on lies". Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Reuters Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine lawmakers brand Chechnya 'Russian-occupied' in dig at Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ichkeria is the historical name of Russia's southern region of Chechnya that was devastated by two bloody wars between Russian troops and Chechen separatists after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. A majority of Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to back a resolution that "recognises the Chechen republic of Ichkeria as territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation as a result of armed aggression which contravened the UN's Statute". Ukraine uses the same language - "temporarily occupied" - to describe swathes of Ukrainian territory that were seized by Russian forces in 2014 and following this year's invasion. Ukraine's 450-seat parliament, which has continued to function behind closed doors despite Russian attacks on the capital Kyiv and other cities, said 290 lawmakers had voted to adopt the resolution. The parliament known in Ukraine as the Verkhovna Rada said 352 lawmakers were present for the vote.

Gas installation is pictured at the Cavern Underground Gas Storage (CUGS) Kosakowo facility, near Debogorze, Poland April, 30. "If we have a drop in temperature, we could expect an uptick in energy demand for heating," Buontempo said. But some analysts warn this alone will not compensate for the loss of Europe's main gas supplier - and a cold winter would make this worse. A cold winter in Europe could add 8 bcm to Europe's gas demand, said Energy Aspects analyst Leon Izbicki. If cold weather depletes gas storage levels this winter, Europe will need to replenish for next winter - with far less Russian gas.

☆ Factbox: Companies sell their businesses in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The logo of French tyre maker Michelin is seen at a company building in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, France, August 6, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoOct 10 (Reuters) - Some Western companies have agreed to sell their Russian assets or hand them over to local managers as they seek to comply with sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and deal with threats from the Kremlin that foreign-owned assets may be seized. Below is a list of firms by sector that have sold their businesses in Russia:AUTOS** British car distributor Inchcape (INCH.L) sold its Russian business to local managementRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register** Italian truck and bus maker Iveco (IVG.MI) transferred its 33% stake in its AMT truck assembly joint venture in Russia to a local partner** French tyre maker Michelin (MICP.PA) intends to transfer its activities in Russia to a new entity under local management by end-2022** French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) sold its majority stake in Avtovaz (AVAZI_p.MM) to a Russian science institute, and transferred all shares in Renault Russia to the city of Moscow** MAN Truck & Bus and Scania, units of German truck maker Traton (8TRA.DE), expect to sell their sales companies in Russia to local partners along with Scania's Russian financing business by Q1 2023BANKS** Britain's HSBC (HSBA.L) agreed to sell its Russian business to Expobank, subject to regulatory approvals in Russia** Czech investment group PPF sold its Russian banking assets, including consumer lender HCFB and its subsidiaries, to investors led by Ivan Tyryshkin** France's Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) sold its Russian business Rosbank (ROSB.MM) to Interros Capital, a firm linked to Russian oligarch Vladimir PotaninCONSUMER ELECTRONICS** Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) transferred its business in Russia to local management** Its Electrolux Professional (EPROb.ST) branch also sold its Russian business to local management** Whirlpool (WHR.N) sold its Russian operations to Turkey's Arcelik (ARCLK.IS)ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS & EQUIPMENT** Finland's Boreo (BOREO.HE) sold its 90% stake in YE Russia to companies controlled by its current director Yrjö Pönni** U.S. industrial firm Emerson Electric (EMR.N) agreed to sell its Russia business to the local management** Finnish elevator maker Kone (KNEBV.HE) expects to close the sale of its Russian business to local management in Q4 2022** France's Schneider Electric (SCHN.PA) expects to close the sale its Russian unit to local management by end-2022** U.S. elevator maker Otis (OTIS.N) sold its Russia business to local investment firm Ice DevelopmentENERGY** French industrial gases producer Air Liquide (AIRP.PA) agreed to shift its Russian assets to local management, subject to regulatory approvals in Russia** Baker Hughes (BKR.O) agreed to sell its oilfield services business in Russia to local management, with closing expected in H2 2022** Italian utility Enel (ENEI.MI) sold its 56.43% stake in Enel Russia to Lukoil (LKOH.MM) and private fund Gazprombank-Frezia** Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) transferred assets of its Russian oil and gas joint ventures to state-owned partner Rosneft (ROSN.MM), and its 30% stake in the Arctic Kharyaga oilfield to state-controlled Russian operator Zarubezhneft** U.S. oilfield services firm Halliburton (HAL.N) sold its Russia operations to a management team made up of former employees** Oil major Shell (SHEL.L) sold its Russian retail and lubricants business to Lukoil** Singapore-based commodities trader Trafigura sold its 10% stake in Vostok Oil project in Siberia to Hong Kong-registered trading firm Nord Axis** Total Energies (TTEF.PA) sold its remaining 20% interest in the Kharyaga oil project to Zarubezhneft, and its 49% stake in Terneftegaz to joint venture partner NovatekFOOD & BEVERAGES** Finland's Atria (ATRAV.HE) sold its fast food business in Russia, Sibylla Rus, to Russian meat producer Cherkizovo (GCHE.MM)** Finland's Fazer sold its Russian unit to Moscow's Kolomenskij Bakery and Confectionery Holding** Irish ingredients giant Kerry Group (KYGa.I) sold its Russian subsidiary to local management and agreed to offload its Belarusian unit to a local operator** Fast food chain McDonald's (MCD.N) sold its Russian business to its licensee Alexander Govor** Finnish food and drinks company Paulig sold its operations in Russia to private Indian investor Vikas Soi** Yum Brands (YUM.N) sold its Pizza Hut business in Russia to a local operator** Finnish food processing firm Raisio (RAIVV.HE) sold its consumer business in Russia to Copacker Agro** Finnish dairy producer Valio sold its Russian business to GK VelkomINDUSTRIAL MACHINERY** Polish measuring devices maker Apator's (APTP.WA) Powogaz unit divested its entire stake in Russia-based AO Teplovodomer** Danish industrial firm Danfoss agreed to sell its Russian and Belarusian business to local management, subject to approval by shareholders and regulatory approvals in Russi

☆ Putin's military chief Shoigu under fire as Russia retreats in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Yuliya-Talmazan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Yuliya Talmazan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

After weeks of battlefield setbacks, criticism of Moscow’s military leadership has burst into the open — heightening the sense of domestic discontent and posing a rare challenge to the Kremlin. The search for a scapegoat appears to have settled on Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a close associate of the man who unilaterally launched the invasion: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Appointed defense minister in 2012, Shoigu, 67, had served as the minister of emergency situations, often dispatched to deal with natural disasters and security emergencies, earning him public approval. With Russian forces on the retreat, its military leadership is under fire. Still, such stinging public rebukes of the country’s leadership are extremely rare in Putin’s Russia, where any dissent, especially against those aligned with the Kremlin, is prohibited.

☆ Russian exodus shows no signs of easing as Ukraine war looms over recruits
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Yuliya-Talmazan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Yuliya Talmazan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

New satellite images released Monday appeared to show a large number of vehicles lining up at Russia’s border crossings with neighboring Georgia and Mongolia. On Tuesday, the Russian state news agency Tass quoted Russian border officials as saying that around 3,600 passenger cars were waiting to cross into Georgia. Kazak border authorities said 98,000 Russian citizens have entered Kazakhstan since the mobilization was announced, according to Russia’s state news agency Ria. NBC News reached out to border officials in both Kazakhstan and Finland for further comment. On Monday, Russian media reported cases of some men being turned back at Russian airports and barred from leaving the country.

☆ Kremlin: sabotage cannot be ruled out as reason for Nord Stream damage
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The logo of Nord Stream is seen at the headquarters of Nord Stream AG in Zug, Switzerland March 1, 2022. Nord Stream AG, the operator of the network, said earlier on Tuesday that three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day. The Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines have a joint annual capacity of 110 billion cubic metres - more than half of Russia's normal gas exports volumes. Sweden's Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, shortly after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that had prompted Denmark to restrict shipping in a five nautical mile radius. Nord Stream 2, which runs almost in parallel to Nord Stream 1, was built in September 2021 but was never launched as Germany refused to certify it.

☆ After sham referendums, Russia could annex more of Ukraine by the end of the week; Russian conscripts set off to war
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Tuesday is the final day of voting in a series of referendums on joining Russia. The votes, widely seen as rigged and illegitimate, are likely to pave the way for Russia to announce it has annexed more of Ukraine by the end of the week, analysts say. There have been multiple reports of votes being staged and coercion and aggression being used to force people living in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to vote in favor of joining Russia. Russian men are continuing to try to flee President Vladimir Putin's military mobilization, with more reports of resistance to the draft and footage emerging of queues at the border with Georgia. The number cited for the mobilization — 300,000 — is nearly double the size of the initial invasion force.

☆ Siberia will be full of investment opportunities in the next 3 decades if you can get in right after the war, says a fund manager who manages $7 billion in assets
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Investing in Russia after the war with Ukraine could present a surpising upside, said an investor. That's thanks to vast farmlands in Siberia, said Cheah Cheng Hye, co-CIO of Value Partners Group. They will be a food superpower," said Cheah Cheng Hye, co-chief investment officer of Value Partners Group, an asset management firm that manages about $7 billion in assets. Over two-thirds of Value Partners' clients are based in China and Hong Kong. Moreover, China has not condemned Moscow over the Ukraine war.

☆ Putin's draft is a 'recipe for slaughter' in Ukraine because he's sending Russians with little to no training to war, former US general says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said in a Washington Post op-ed Putin's draft is a "recipe for slaughter." "They will not be prepared for what they will encounter," said Hertling, former commander of the US Army in Europe. Sending new recruits, poorly trained Russian reservists and untrained civilians into Ukraine is a recipe for slaughter. Hertling said that as commander of the US Army in Europe, he visited Russia several times and observed how the Russian army trained its conscripts. "Having watched the Russian army during the first seven months of its campaign in Ukraine, I cannot say I'm surprised by any of their setbacks.

A DART view of the Dimorphos asteroid right before impact. NASA via YouTubeThe DART spacecraft, which is about the size of a vending machine, crashed into Dimorphos at 7:14 p.m. "Oh my goodness," said Elena Adams, a DART mission systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The DART mission is functioning as a proof of concept of asteroid deflection as a planetary defense strategy. Betts said he hopes the DART mission will continue to raise awareness about the importance of planetary defense.

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