On March 9, local time, the Russian government's legislative committee approved the second set of counter-sanctions measures proposed by the ruling United Russia party to support the Russian economy, paving the way for the nationalization of the property of Western companies involved in sanctions against Russia. The responsibilities of the Government's Legislative Council include reading and evaluating draft laws to be submitted to the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian Parliament).
The United Russia Party announced the news at Telegram on the same day and added that the bill allows companies from "unfriendly countries and regions" with more than 25% of the shares held by foreigners to be included in the external management mechanism implemented by the court. The move would "prevent bankruptcy and preserve jobs," the statement said.
Screenshot of a message on the Telegram channel of the United Russia Party
The United Russia Party said that under the proposed proposal, if a business that previously announced its withdrawal from Russia resumes activities or sells shares within 5 days, it can be denied access to the management mechanism, provided that the business and employees are still there. Otherwise, the court will appoint a three-month interim management, after which the shares of the new institution will be auctioned off and the old institution will be liquidated.
Andrei Turchak, secretary of the General Committee of the United Russia Party, accused on the 9th that the withdrawal of Western private enterprises from their operations in Russia was "no less than a premeditated bankruptcy", at the cost of a large number of Russian staff being fired overnight, and also destroying the company's own economy.
Turchak said the party's task was to save jobs and not let the economic and productive potential be destroyed from within. "(Nationalization of property) This is a measure of last resort, but we will not tolerate stabbing in the back, we will protect our people." This is a real war, and it is no longer against russia as a whole, but against its citizens. We will not remain indifferent, and we will take drastic retaliatory measures and act in accordance with the laws of war. ”
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a "special military operation", after which Western countries and their allies took turns to launch sanctions against Russia. On February 26, Medvedev, vice chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, speculated that Russia might nationalize assets registered in the United States, the European Union and other unfriendly countries. On March 3, Russian presidential spokesman Eskov revealed that the Kremlin was not considering sanctions for the nationalization of property.
With the increase of sanctions from all sides, US President Biden has sacrificed the "big move" of "energy ban", and how far the bill can go is still unknown. According to Yale University statistics, more than 300 companies have announced the suspension of business and investment activities in Russia to varying degrees, covering energy (BP, ExxonMobil, Shell, etc.), aviation (Boeing, Airbus, etc.), automobiles (Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, etc.), retail (Adidas, Nike, IKEA, H&M, Estée Lauder, Richemont, etc.), manufacturing (General Electric, Honeywell, etc.), finance (MasterCard, Visa card, American Express, etc.), technology (Apple, Disney, Netflix, Meta, Spotify, Youtube, Intel, Microsoft, Amazon Cloud Services, IBM, etc.) and catering (McDonald's, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Nestlé, etc.), music (Live Nation, Universal Music Group), consulting (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG, Accenture, etc.) and many others.
The "list of unfriendly countries and regions" approved by the Russian government on the 7th listed a total of 48 countries and regions, including the United States, EU member states, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Japan and so on.
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