Photo provided by the press service of the Russian Parliament during a session on February 15, 2022 (PRESS SERVICE OF THE RUSSIAN STATE DUMA / Distribution)
Russia’s parliament on Friday passed a package of laws designed to counter the effects of Western sanctions on the country’s economy since the invasion of Ukraine.
This text, available on the Duma’s website, aims to “increase the stability of the Russian economy as well as protect citizens against sanctions.”
Unprecedented sanctions were imposed on Russia, leading to a sharp fall in the ruble and a mass exodus of foreign companies from the country, among other devastating effects on the Russian economy.
The law allows the government to increase pensions and the minimum wage, “if necessary.”
A moratorium on inspections of SMEs may be introduced for 2022, and for IT companies until the end of 2024. The text also introduces a simplified system for the purchase of medicines, as well as an expanded list of the latter.
This law also provides for a simplified redemption procedure, ie. repurchase of own shares by a company. The share price of Russian companies has been severely devalued, if not deleted, this will allow them to buy them back at a low price to consolidate.
The law also provides for the suspension of debt repayment for citizens and SMEs in 2022, a measure that was already introduced at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Finally, there are plans to extend the capital amnesty, which has been in place for several years, allowing Russians to repatriate property and capital held abroad without the risk of prosecution.
The provision also allows companies to change the candidates proposed to their board of directors, a measure reminiscent of the controversy over foreigners present on the advisory bodies of many large Russian groups.
Asked during a daily press briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “the economy is now in an aggressive environment”.
“The economy affects us all, it affects the well-being of all citizens and it strikes at our economy, which needs to be mitigated and kept to a minimum. This is what the government and the president are focusing on now,” he said. he said.