Page 31 - RusRPTDec20

2.15 ​Politics - misc
The Russian government submitted to the State Duma amendments to the Criminal Code, which would seriously tougher sanctions on those entering cartels ​and involved in other market collusion, ​Vedomosti ​daily reported on November 11. Notably, under the new legislation up to six years in prison could threaten anyone entering a collusion with a competitor making over RUB500mn ($6.48mn) of revenues or resulting in damage to the market, state, or consumers of over RUB60mn. The authors of the amendments estimate that collusion on the commodity markets results in 1.5-2% of GDP losses annually, mostly through non-competitive and set-up auctions where pricing is increased by up to 30% above the market level. While the analysts surveyed by ​Vedomosti ​acknowledge the cartel problem, they see the suggested legislation as dangerous, potentially leading to manipulative applications and abuse against any entrepreneur closing a deal with a related stakeholder or partner.​ ​bne IntelliNews​ has argued​ that Russian business is facing a crisis of confidence. According to the business ombudsman, Boris Titov, over ​80% of the entrepreneurs surveyed by his office believe that doing business in Russia is not safe​. Ex-Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev in October 2020 ​requested an outline of judiciary and law enforcement reform​ in order to ease the pressure on businesses from high-handed security agencies.
Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will cost under $20 per person on international markets ​and Moscow aims to produce more than a billion doses at home and abroad next year, its financial backers and developers said on Tuesday, ​Reuters​ reported. For Russian citizens, inoculation will be free of charge. Mass vaccination in Russia, which has the world’s fifth-highest number of recorded COVID-19 cases, has yet to begin as so-called Phase III clinical trials continue. The price of the Russian vaccine is cheaper than some other Western rivals such as the vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, which costs 15.5 euros per shot, but more expensive than the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, which will be sold in Europe for around 2.5 euros per shot.
Direct damage to the Arctic from global warming will amount to RUB2–9 trillion until 2050, ​First Deputy Far Eastern Minister Alexander Krutikov said on Tuesday. "Direct damage calculated as destruction of our buildings, I mean, fixed assets we have in the Arctic, will stand at 2 trillion by 2050 under an optimistic forecast, when the rates of warming are minimal,” Krutikov said. “The maximum loss, if intensity of warming rises, is 9 trillion by 2050."
Russia mulls ‘golden passport’ scheme. ​Russia’s Economic Development Ministry is considering a scheme to enable foreigners to get residency in exchange for investment, according to a report in Izvestiya on November 20. If adopted, this would go against the global grain: many traditional offshore
31 ​RUSSIA Country Report​ December 2020 www.intellinews.com