Page 24 - RusRPTAug20

“blood money” and is targeting 20 Saudis and 25 Russians who are accused of human rights abuses, including Russia’s top state investigator.
The new carbon tax border levy on imported goods being considered currently by the European Union for 2025 could cost Russian exporters €33bn between 2025 and 2030​, KPMG warned the lobbying group Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), RBC business daily reports. Should the EU adopt a stricter carbon tax regime, charging fees based on both direct and indirect emissions, Russian companies could have to pay €51bn by 2030, KPMG estimates. RBC reminds that Europe is Russia’s single largest export market, with €143bn worth of exports in 2019, out which two thirds were oil and gas. Analysts commented that Russian businesses are forced to regard cross-border carbon taxation and sustainable policies as necessary to maintain their market shares.
2.9 ​Polls & Sociology
In June 2020, the level of approval of Vladimir Putin's activities was 60% in the sample as a whole, the level of trust in him was 26%. ​In assessing the state of affairs in the country, the residents of Russia are equally divided: 43% of the respondents believe that “things are going in the right direction”, while 41% of the respondents are sure that “the country is moving on the wrong path”.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Russia seems to be on the wane, but consumer pessimism remains high​, a poll held by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) suggests. The Russian population is expecting the situation in the country to deteriorate in the near future. They are also skeptical about their financial situation and prospects, the poll says. The rise in consumer pessimism may cause a severe consumer crisis, the newspaper notes. The experts point out that over 70% of those polled think that the pandemic will significantly affect the country's economy. Meanwhile, 18% of the respondents think that the effect will be moderate. Russian residents are more worried about their financial prospects, with over half of those polled expecting their financial situation to deteriorate in the near future. Seventy-three percent of those polled fear that their monetary circumstances will worsen significantly or moderately. Meanwhile, 14% think that it will not deteriorate significantly, and 11% see no threat to their finances at all.
Who voted against Putin’s constitutional amendments?​ ​Opinion polls by the Levada Centre​ and other sociologists in recent months have recorded a significant number of opponents of the vote on constitutional amendments: their number amounted to 34% in March, 31% in April and 32% in May. However, not all intended to take part in the voting: only 17% of Russians planned to vote no. One of the most typical determinants of the attitude to the amendments is age. It is impossible to determine the exact line, but clearly the schism divides those who spent their youth in the 21st century and older Russians.
24​ RUSSIA Country Report​ August 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com