Russia is trying to prop up the ruble ... but it's not working

Mar 2, 2022
The ruble is a free-floating currency whose value tracks supply and demand. But sanctions have demolished demand and wrecked the market.
A currency exchange office in St. Petersburg, Russia. People are trying to unload their rubles as the value of the currency plummets.
Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

Germany turns tough toward Russia over Ukraine invasion

Feb 28, 2022
Germany dropped its opposition to some tough new sanctions against Russia and is now stepping up spending on defense.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, seen above, announced 
a sharp increase in military spending on Sunday.
Clemens Bilan/Getty Images

How Russia could feel the sting of being excluded from SWIFT

Feb 28, 2022
Being cut off from the SWIFT system means Russian banks can't legally or efficiently execute transactions.
A protester holds a placard during a rally against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at Place de la Republique in Paris, on Febr. 26, 2022.
GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

Russia’s economic isolation has a long history

Feb 24, 2022
Once again, a professor of Russian history says, ordinary Russians will be "the ones who shoulder the daily burden."
“Russia, of course, has a very long history of being excluded from the world economy,” said Kristy Ironside, an assistant professor of Russian history at McGill University. Above, Soviet citizens pass by homeless and hunger strikers in Moscow in 1990.
VITALY ARMAND/AFP via Getty Images

Why it's tough to wean the West off Russian oil and gas

Feb 24, 2022
For 15 years the EU has been talking about decreasing its dependence on Russia's gas and oil, but it didn't do it intime.
Russia is the main supplier of natural gas and oil to the European Union. Above, oil tank cars on rail tracks near the Siberian town of Tobolsk.
Andrei Borodulin/AFP Getty Images

How will Biden's additional sanctions affect the Russian economy?

Feb 24, 2022
"So long as Putin continues to be president of Russia, Russia will not be able to benefit from the global economy," said the Atlantic Council's Eddie Fishman.
President Joe Biden announced additional sanctions against Russia on Thursday following its invasion of Ukraine. This follows a tranche of sanctions earlier this week.
Drew Angerer/Getty IMages

Higher prices, more risk: How Russia's war on Ukraine is likely to affect the global economy

Feb 24, 2022
The invasion has introduced a lot of unknowns for global trade, financial markets and national economies. It's also a blow to the pandemic recovery.
People carrying bags walk on a street in Ubla, Slovakia, after crossing the Slovak-Ukrainian border on Feb. 24. Russia began a large-scale attack on Ukraine overnight, with explosions reported in several cities and outside the regions held by Russian-backed rebels.
Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images

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Cybersecurity to take center stage as conflict continues in Ukraine

Feb 24, 2022
Ukraine had encountered cyberattacks to its infrastructure in the weeks leading up to the invasion.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine conflict could push grain prices higher worldwide

Feb 22, 2022
Together, Russia and Ukraine supply a large part the world's wheat and corn exports.
A wheat field in Russia, which supplies a large share of global wheat exports. Agricultural  markets could be disrupted by war, along with commerce in energy.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Will the UK sanction Russian-owned assets over the Ukraine crisis?

Feb 15, 2022
The British government has threatened to freeze Russian oligarchs’ property in the U.K. if Russia invades Ukraine. Is the threat credible?
By one estimate, at least 150 luxury properties in the U.K. — $2 billion worth — are owned by Russians with links to the Kremlin.
Hollie Adams/Getty Images