russian auto giant AvtoVAZ is secretly preparing to halt operations at its plant in tolyatti, the largest car factory in russia, due to a collapse in sales. According to russian media, employees have already been informed about a “vacation” scheduled for May. AvtoVAZ has been unsuccessfully trying to contain the decline in key economic indicators…
The russian authorities continue tightening the screws. The state duma has passed another package of draft laws supposedly aimed at “protecting sovereignty,” but in reality, they expand the state’s ability to repress any expression of disloyalty to the regime. The new provisions broaden the grounds for labeling individuals as “foreign agents” and increase the number…
The kremlin intensifies ideological indoctrination of children. The russian ministry of education has approved a unified educational program for all children’s camps. ▫️The program mandates compulsory cooperation between camps and the “Movement of the first” — an organization modeled after the soviet-era young pioneers. It is designed to indoctrinate children with propaganda, instilling hatred toward…
Freight traffic on the RZD rail network — russia’s railway transport monopoly — declined even more sharply than expected in the first quarter of 2025: by 7.2% instead of the projected 5.5%. The steepest drops were recorded in grain transport (-30.8%), construction materials (-23.2%), cement (-13.5%), metal (-13.1%), and oil (-5.9%). ▫️ This indicates a…
In russia, payments to participants of the war against Ukraine and their families are being delayed. According to the prosecutor general of the russian federation, the number of such complaints continues to grow. Last year, the prosecutor general had already promised to “promptly address” the issue of delayed payments. However, the number of complaints has…
The russian state corporation Rosnano, established to develop nanotechnologies, has declared a technical default on its government-guaranteed bond issue. The company failed to make a scheduled payment of 1 billion rubles to investors. ▫️ Since its creation, Rosnano has primarily been an image project, intended to showcase russia’s “high technological potential” to the world. However,…
The profit of russia’s largest truck manufacturer, KamAZ, collapsed 28 times in 2024. Over the past year, the company’s net profit amounted to 731 million rubles (approximately 8.6 million USD), compared to 20.4 billion rubles (over 240 million USD) in 2023. ▫️ The company admits that the drop in profits is due to rising loan…
In moscow, st. petersburg, and the lipetsk region, ninth-grade students applying to technical schools and colleges will now take only two entrance exams instead of four. This experiment is linked to a shortage of labor, particularly at defense industry enterprises. The kremlin is lowering admission requirements for vocational institutions to produce more skilled workers within…
russia’s largest drone manufacturer, Geoscan, has sharply increased its profits after a fund linked to the daughter of russian dictator vladimir putin, katerina tikhonova, acquired a stake in the company. In 2024, Geoscan’s net profit jumped nearly 6.2 times to a record 1.27 billion rubles (around 15 million USD). According to Western media reports, other…
Last year, russia recorded the highest consumption of strong alcohol per capita in eight years — 8.5 liters per person. According to russian official statistics, this sharp increase in alcohol consumption began after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The highest levels of drinking are reported in sakhalin, chukotka, karelia, komi, and magadan — with over…
The Rostselmash plant, the largest agricultural machinery manufacturer in russia, has reported a record drop in sales. To avoid mass layoffs, the company has shifted to a four-day workweek, with its management calling the past year the worst in a decade. ▫️ After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the plant lost its…
russian dictator vladimir putin has announced the most large-scale conscription of conscripts in the past 14 years. This spring, the ministry of defense of the russian federation plans to add 160,000 people to the army. This is more than in any of the previous three years of full-scale war. ▫️ In spring 2022, 134,500 people…
