Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to one of the worst economic crises in modern Russian history. The Russian service of the BBC talks about the main economic events of the day.

The ruble on the Moscow Exchange continues to set historical records. On Wednesday, the dollar and the euro were at the level of March-February 2020 – then the coronavirus pandemic had not yet come to Russia, and the ruble had not begun to sharply weaken.

The dollar was worth 66.3 rubles on Wednesday evening, which is 4.6 rubles less than on Tuesday. The euro traded at the level of 70.4 rubles, and during the trading day it fell below the level of 70 rubles.

The main reason for the strengthening of the ruble is that the demand for the currency from food importers is very low amid the destruction of supply chains, Bogdan Zvarich, an analyst at Banki.ru, writes in an evening report.

At the same time, exporters continue to sell 80% of their foreign exchange earnings and buy rubles – this obligation was imposed on them by the authorities. The fall in demand for the currency and its constant supply create a dialance on the market that protects the ruble, they write in the BCS.

On Friday, the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, said that the regulator suggested that the government ease the requirements for the mandatory sale of foreign exchange earnings. If the government supports this proposal, these exporters will be required to sell only half of their foreign exchange earnings. If this happens, it could stop the strengthening of the ruble, writes BCS.

In the medium term, the overvalued ruble is unlikely to have a positive impact on the economy, for example, budget revenues, which largely depend on foreign exchange earnings, will be lower in rubles.

On Wednesday, the UK imposed another package of sanctions against Russia, and the EU introduced the sixth sanctions package.

The UK decided to limit the provision of various services to Russia – accounting, management consulting and others.

Under the new British sanctions, Russian propaganda companies, such as the VGTRK holding, as well as their employees, for example, VGTRK TV presenter Nailya Asker-Zade and the company’s war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, fell under the new British sanctions. The British list also included the head of the Otkritie bank, Mikhail Zadornov, who had previously been sanctioned by the United States, and economic adviser to the Russian president, Maxim Oreshkin.

The European Commission also presented its draft new sanctions package. “All these measures will deprive the Russian economy of opportunities for modernization and diversification. Putin wanted to erase Ukraine from the map of the world. He definitely will not succeed. Quite the opposite: Ukraine rose in a single impulse, and his country, Russia, is sinking,” the statement said. Wednesday the head of the European Commission Ursula von dei Leyen.

The European Commission, she said, is proposing an oil embargo – a ban on the import of Russian oil. True, this is happening gradually: in six months, Europeans will have to abandon the import of crude oil, and by the end of 2022 – from the import of petroleum products. This is one of the most serious measures that European countries have introduced against Russia.

In addition, the Europeans also promise to disconnect Sberbank from the SWIFT interbank transfer system. This is not so scary, since the bank is already under US sanctions, and many European banks have already blocked transfers from it. The media also wrote about personal sanctions against the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.

The package also added a ban on real estate transactions in the EU for Russians if they do not have European citizenship or a residence permit, media write.

In April 2022, the average price of Russian Urals oil was $70.52 per barrel, the Russian Ministry of Finance reported this Wednesday.

Loko-Invest economist Dmitry Polevoy in his telegram channel recalls that Brent cost $106 per barrel in the same period. He writes about a record discount for Russian oil in relation to Brent – almost $36, or 34%.

For Russia, such a discount and strengthening of the ruble, as well as the EU oil embargo, could lead to a significant reduction in budget revenues, provided that spending only grows.

Polevoy believes that under such conditions “the authorities’ attention to the ruble exchange rate” may increase, and the authorities will borrow more in the form of federal loan bonds.

The reorientation of Russian oil supplies to the east is also going quite hard so far. India, for example, is seeking more and more discounts from Russia: the country wants to buy Russian oil for less than $70 per barrel, writes Bloomberg .

A similar thing is happening with China: in China, private oil refiners began to buy Russian oil, and also at significant discounts, writes the Financial Times.

Businessman Vladimir Lyakishev was found dead in Moscow – he is the founder of the popular chain of budget restaurants “The Karavaev Brothers Culinary Store”, RBC and portal 112 write about this.

Portal 112 says that a 45-year-old man committed suicide and his wife found his body. The media also write that he abused alcohol.

The Karavaev Brothers Culinary Store was founded in 2008. Lyakishev was a member of the management of the restaurant chain until 2019, writes 112.

Vegetable gardens for employees of the BMW assembly plant

The Avtodor company, an automobile company from Kaliningrad that manufactures BMW, KIA, Hyundai and other cars in Russia, has allocated “land plots for vegetable gardens” to its employees.

The company called it “systemic measures to preserve and provide additional social support to the plant’s staff.”

Employees will be given 10 acres for arranging a garden. The company has already conducted a survey and compiled a list of those wishing to get a garden. The company has already distributed 1,648 plots by drawing lots. The site even published photos of employees studying the field.

BMW has suspended the assembly of its cars in Russia due to the war in Ukraine.