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Khinshtein and Anton Gorelkin, which means that the amendments are almost guaranteed to be adopted. The explanatory note to them states that monitoring of “illegal information resources” showed that there are still advertisements there. And the “owners of information resources” make money from it, who not only are often not residents of the Russian Federation, but also carry out “provocative activities and malevolent actions” against the interests of the country.
Russia’s largest private sector lobbying group Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) proposes to set up a special fund of domestical-mined cryptocurrencies that would issue derivative digital assets then used in cross-border transactions, Vedomosti daily report citing RSPP’s Andrey Lisitsyn. Amid the sanctions background the policy interest in crypto for cross-border settlements will grow, even if Russia is expected to pass strict regulation on domestic crypto mining and circulation. The plan by RSPP suggests to allow the legal use of cryptocurrency in cross-border transactions without introducing it into domestic circulation, which is currently banned in Russia. This would also offer a new marketplace for domestic crypto miners. After initially rejecting the idea of cryptocurrencies, the famously conservative Central Bank of Russia (CBR) had softened its stance on the potential use of cryptocurrency as a recognised means of payment. Deputy head of the CBR Xenia Yudaeva said the regulator was toying with the idea of allowing the use of crypto for international payments and signalled a more lax stance on crypto-mining in June 2022. In search of solutions to avoid sanctions restrictions, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also added his name to the roster of Russian high officials endorsing the use of digital money to settle international trade deals in September 2022.
9.1.8 Telecoms sector news 9.1.9 Tourism sector news
Popularity of Golden Ring cities among Russian tourists has grown by 22%.In June 2024, Suzdal was the leader in growth in the number of trips by Russians within the country, according to data from MegaFon and the Tourism.RF corporation. The total number of visitors to the cities of the Golden Ring increased by 22% year-on-year, and the cities of the Silver Necklace by 20%.
The Golden Ring route includes eight cities: Sergiev Posad, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Suzdal and Vladimir. The Silver Necklace unites 11 regions of the North-West of Russia: St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Pskov, Novgorod regions, Karelia, Komi and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
217 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com