Page 13 - RPTRusFeb17

the market share of state-controlled and municipal companies and their new acquisitions should be limited, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said in a new report to the Kremlin. The watchdog drafted a presidential decree establishing a competitiveness development plan for 2017-2019 that would limit state's role in the economy, Vedomosti daily reported on February 8, citing the document. According to FAS estimates, state-owned companies accounted for about 70% of GDP in 2015.
Putin will use the state owned enterprises to run his election campaign,
downgrading United Russia. Kommersant sources report that the Kremlin will tap state companies as an electoral resource as it seeks record turnout in 2018 presidential elections. Sources indicate that the Kremlin's 'unofficial' electoral HQ will begin work next month, a year before elections (technically illegal under Russian law). State companies and corporations will serve as the foundation of the campaign, marking a departure from United Russia as the Kremlin's key mobilization tool. Officials view the party's network is insufficient for boosting turnout, as the Duma vote saw a figure of 47.8%. Corporations took it easy in terms of mobilizing in the elections, The turnout for the Duma election was roughly 50% turnout but experts say the companies can send this up to 70%.
A Moscow court has overturned the decision to fine independent Russian news outlet RBC for libelling oligarch and Putin ally Igor Sechin. An RBC report published in April 2016 claimed that Sechin, the CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft, had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to block the company's minority stakeholder from buying more shares. Rosneft filed a libel claim against RBC in September of the same year, demanding 3.1 billion rubles ($49.2 million) in damages. A judge then reduced Rosneft’s claim to a more manageable sum of 390,000 rubles ($6,375) in December.
US Senator Lindsey Graham promised to “hit back at Russia” with new sanctions for US electoral interference, during a speech at the Munich Security Conference. Per the senator, "2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress." He adds his concern that Russia will interfere in upcoming elections in France and Germany as well. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pushed back, commenting “somehow when we are blamed, no one asked for facts ... give us some facts.”
Putin ordered the government to expedite a transition of state contracts to treasury monitoring, and away from non-targeted spending a nd the accumulation of debt on advances. These procurement regulatory changes are the cornerstone of the state’s anti-graft effort -- which is not working well. The transition, with a launch date of July 1st, is promised to impact even the most opaque spending in the military sector. From 2018, the measure will include orders from monopoly contractors and subcontractors as well. The move marks a broader effort to improve the effectiveness of state spending, with MinFin warning that non-targeted expenditures are often used to other-than-intended ends, such as cash purchases. Audit Chamber head Tatiana Golikova notes that only 30% of spending falls under treasury monitoring, adding that such spending sees savings of between 3-6%, versus .07-.5% for more opaque spending. MinEcon, however, warned last year that cleaning up military spending may initially reduce competition and increase prices.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has rejected Russia's appeal of a decision that found Russia’s 2014 ban on the import of pork to Russia from the EU. The WTO confirmed that the Russian ban on imports of live pigs,
13 RUSSIA Country Report February 2017 www.intellinews.com