Yandex speaks out from front line of Western sanctions against Russia Yandex, Russia's Google, has withdrawn its financial guidance for 2022 due to uncertainty over what this year will yield for the corporation. The Moscow-headquartered business provides a search engine that has a commanding share of the local search market, as well as tools including e-commerce, mobile applications, an email …
I think you meant to write the USA and Western Europe. India, China, South America and any part of Africa that matters have been far less vocal.
With the EU shelling out something on the order of €50 billion for Russian gas since hostilities began, it's perhaps even a stretch to claim they have shunned Putin. There has of course been an immense amount of empty virtue signalling which seems to be all that really matters these days.
"As such, under the current circumstances Yandex decided to withdraw financial guidance for the current year as "our visibility over the short- and medium-term is extremely limited."
Even you would think that if all was wonderful that they'd want to give us their rosy projections, right?
"Trading of Yandex's Class A shares remains suspended on Nasdaq and the company is unable to say when that will change. Trading of its shares on the Moscow Exchange resumed on March 29. ®"
What the West has been doing economically to Russia is NOT enough. Russia is still not ceasing their criminal invasion. As painful to Europe as cutting their energy purchases from Russia would be, it has to be done. Now. Europe is FUNDING this criminal government. The Russian government is a criminal enterprise. In total. As painful to the Russian people as a complete cutoff from the West would be, it has to be done. The Russian mobsters have to be stopped.
That would be a bigger blow to the EU than to Russia. Russia will sell more to Asia, and the desperate EU nations buying any non-Russian fuel they can find will drive-up global energy prices, increasing the price Russia can charge Asia for their energy exports.
The US under Obama was anxious to ship large volumes of LNG to EU ports/terminals, but the EU was happy to remain dependant on Russia, despite how blatantly Russia was wielding their power. Had they mandated a mix with more non-Russian sources before now, the infrastructure to accept imports would already be built-out. Instead, Russia can shut down EU industry at will, and the EU needs years to develop the alternative supplies.
Honestly they should've struck while the iron was hot instead of giving Putin so many warnings that he probably has a contingency plan for sanctions (esp on Energy) by now.
Whereas in the past he may have been more dependent on the sales, I just worry that now it wouldn't be as much of a deterrent and less pressure on Russia for more harm to the rest of Europe :/ It's just a shame really
To be fair if they were actually serious about transitioning away from Old Energy then they would've mitigated this crisis. But they made an exception for Gas. Which now they can't kick even if they threw out the oil.
Nuclear Power can still be Green and if people really did care about the climate they'd accept it as a compromise. Just make it safer & more efficient. If they want another source of energy then they can just innovate till they beat it.
> But they made an exception for Gas.
Gas is a non renewable but a clean form of energy. In oilfields it's either used or burned as it's a by product of oil extraction.
Nitpicks aside, I do agree with the rest of your post. I've spoken to various EU politicians about this and with the exception of the French, they're all basically clueless and fail to recognise the urgency of the situation. Germany are talking of replacing their Russian gas with coal, which is a slow motion version of a nuclear strike: no more planet Earth for any of us. :(
I've never been a tree hugger but not caring for the environment is simply no longer an option.
Nuclear power is already safe and low carbon.
Problem the EU's had is regulatory capture of the energy market by the 'renewables' lobby. That's extracted around £78bn, or £3,000 per household to UK energy bills over the last decade.
Because 'renewables' are expensive, intermittent and unreliable, we've needed to also invest in gas to keep the lights on when it's dark, and the wind isn't blowing. The more 'renewables' added, the more our energy costs have increased, and the more we've depended on gas.
The only way to reduce dependence on gas is to produce our own, or change energy policy away from 'renewables'.
Russia had already gained the dubious honor of being "the second most sanctioned country behind Iran" before this war started. We've got so used to them existing on a 'grace and favor' basis -- we might allow them to complete Nord Stream 2 but then we might not, we might allow them to start using, but then we might not -- that we completely overlooked their view of things and, while we're about it, completely discounted the rest of the world's opinions. After all, the message we've been sending for years to all of these economies is "Do what we say or we'll wreck your society", not the most diplomatic way to counter foreign relations.
The emotive language ("mobsters") that we're accustomed to using about them is just the way we have of dehumanizing people we don't like and so justifying whatever actions we take against them. Since we've been subject to campaign after campaign like this we should really be asking "Why?", or "What's in it for us?". We obviously have interests but in the case of the UK, for example, I can't help wondering if the sudden affinity your PM has for Ukraine is more a result of trying to divert attention from problems at home than an overriding need to get involved in yet another Crimea War.
"the second most sanctioned country behind Iran": Why?
Because of the annexation of Crimea and Donbas, illegal according to the UN Charter, but whose condemnation in the UNSC was vetoed, by Russia only.
Describing use of the word mobster as emotive is a point of view. It's also an accurate analogy of the geopolitical protection racket that Russia has been running for the last fifteen years, in Chechnya, Georgia, Belarus and now Ukraine.
At a stretch you could argue that NATO is a counterpoint racket; history shows that any nation feeling NATO not to be to their liking can leave.
I don't see any nation queueing up to leave, but the interest in joining is real and growing. Faced with a Mafioso you can give in and pay up, or you can unite and refuse. Ukraine got a little too close to the second option for the Capo's liking.
> the USSR collapsed and the Russian Federation took up the UN seat vacated by the larger entity without debate or vote.
Russia continues to have the second largest inventory of nuclear weapons. That's basically the measure of who gets to be on the UN security council. In addition, the UN is designed as a place for countries who disagree to work out their differences. Without Russia in a prominent position, the UN would be rather pointless, might as well call it "NATO."
@martinusher It's not about hating the Russian people, in fact in the majority of discussions of had on the topic. I always make it clear that any hatred shown to Russian Citizens is just more of the same problem. People ended up hating Ukranian Refugees because it was assumed they were 'the Russians' Insanity at its finest. At the end of the day. It's Putin & His Inner Circle that need to be stopped. We've come close to the limits of what can be done without starting a wider war and nobody wants that.
...I'll admit it too, your claim about the UK Prime Minister may very well be true. The way he just charged in with Liz Truss and suddenly had all scrutiny dropped with their "get on with the job" line is blatant distraction, **but that doesn't change the fact that now is a time to stay united.**
Innocents shouldn't suffer due to the censorship, misinformation, and hatred of one man. Many Russian civilians were arrested & hurt standing up against this invasion bc of that they will always have my respect, but make no mistake, this needs to be opposed in any way possible. Comments like yours aren't necessarily helpful to stopping dehumanization of anyone.
This topic of hating Russians is a difficult one. I see it like one of those many zombie movies - people defending themselves against all those folk moaning "brains, BRAINS!!" mow them down with a machine gun and don't stop to think "awww - it's not their fault really".
Also remember that all the rape, torture, civilian mass murder etc that's happening in Ukraine right now is not being done by Putin or anyone in his close inner circle. That's troops on the ground!!
In a war like this you need to pick a side otherwise sitting on the fence only gives you splinters in the bum :-)
I agree that all the atrocities being committed in the Ukraine right now are being done by soliders, not Putin specifically, but neither are they being done by Russian civilians.
If one British solider goes and shoots a bunch of prisoners in war-zone de jour, I'd much rather that the victim's country doesn't suddenly hold me, my family, my friends and most of the people I know personally responsible.
This isn't a polarised situation (e.g. it's just Putin / it's all the Russians). As with everything, there's quite a bit of nuance involved.
There's some nuance but not much - soldiers of any army may commit war crimes, the measure of the country is whether they are then prosecuted or given a medal.
Given the Russian army are awarded medals for killing civilians then it's fair to blame the state and with the displays of support for that state by it's population, to use the measures available, including financial, to demonstrate that is not OK.
You are correct in saying that it's not all black or white. However there is a large part of the civilian Russian population who are clearly in the "zombie" category after the brainwashing of state TV etc and they cannot be ignored. Fringe opinion often empowers the mainstream to be bolder and stronger.
This 100%
Let's not forget that people ...are actually like us, they have lives & families like us. Fears & hopes like us. Kindness & pain like us. It's always a shame that people immediately turn to hatred of an entire group of people. Millions just defined with a singular monolithic and fixed viewpoint.
However there is a large part of the civilian Russian population who are clearly in the "zombie" category after the brainwashing of state TV etc and they cannot be ignored.
Looks like you've already fallen into the trap of dehumanising the enemy. You have no idea what percentage of Russians are in agreement with the Putin regime. That an effective opposition has not emerged is mainly due to the fact that Putin is not averse to killing his political enemies. Don't forget, Russians also have access to the internet so all this talk of brainwashing through state TV is overblown in my opinion.
But do you really think the soldiers are the same as the *over* 5,000 Arrested Civilians? In the end, they'd have the best chance at making a change. Let's not close the door by forgetting who we're meant to be stopping.
Who even knows what's going on in Russia rn, I wouldn't put it past Putin to turn Kim-Jong Un on his own people. The Yandex scandal from the past month proves it. Which is frustrating because that company evaded sanctions despite having Western Divisions. It's like we want them to have leverage over us or something :/
Putin, his Cronies, and any spiteful bigots that should know better. Those one's are the people I hold responsible. The lies and hiding of alternative viewpoints can have a major impact on people. International Gaslighting effort from China's & Russia's Sphere of influence. (Belarus, HK*, Other Neighbouring Allies etc)
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying stop the sanctions, im just saying don't stagger them without going for the big targets. The more time we waste, the less worth it that they'll end up. Until eventually it's just useless and harmful because of Putin having God Knows however long he did to prepare for an Economic Skirmish with the west.
Other than that, I've met decent people who are Russian. Some protested, some speak out, some just straight up leave Russia & live on their own in another country. After the protests, and come on... Was over 5,000 arrests when I last checked and who knows what's happened since then inside Russia.
Like I said we wouldn't necessarily know if Putin has gone Kim Jong Un with his Yandex'ed Influence for assistance in marking Propaganda as a fact checked source + the Great Firewall of Russia & China.
Hence my call for sanctions on Yandex UK/Yandex Netherlands. It's good that The Register didn't forget about them getting let off after their issues of giving info to the Kremlin & Actively controlling the narrative online for Russian Dissenters. ...So props to the author on this article. Where others didn't. Free & Independent Press is important to determining biases aswell as truths.
It's interesting to think about the "I did what I was told to by the official authorities, too scared of not knowing what'd happen to everyone if I rebel against orders and instructions."
...Let's not assume it's as easy as protesting elsewhere without facing some major consequences or disappearing. Would everyone in this thread be able to do the same? Knowing it could change everything forever? Knowing it could impact the people you know & love? Knowing that your life could be put at risk by people who 'Just wanna talk.' Accuse you of being a danger to the state and do whatever. It's the stuff of movies & conspiracy theories but a real concern for them.
The only ones who have a chance at stopping Putin from trying anything in the future.
He wants us to push them into his arms. With how polarising politics has become, I'm not surprised that views which are obviously flawed get taken seriously. Fringe is the new normal these days and the overton window has shifted once more.
One cannot instantly switch an entire country's energy infrastructure without significant damage to that country's economy. That kind of thinking is exceptionally simplistic.
Using Germany as an example, they import about 25% of their natural gas and 40% of their oil from Russia. If they turn that off, suddenly petrol prices shoot through the roof and haulage costs follow. Homes suddenly don't have enough gas for heating. Industry doesn't have enough energy. The German economy takes a nose-dive.
Each area that uses Russian oil / gas needs to be examined and an alternative needs to be sought at a non-prohibitive price. That takes time.
Link to current BBC report, for a more reputable source on this problem than me: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61164894
Not the guy, the wider group/conglomerate. It's not just one company but multiple and those companies are also tied to multiple others.
I'm sure the founder is a decent person caught up in a mess with everything that's gone on and that many employees are good too, but again it's not about hating the people.
Boycotting and implementing Tariffs/Sanctions are pretty much all anybody can do now, we've tried all kinds of support to the people of Ukraine but pressuring Putin through proxies might prove itself useful by weakening his hand.
Yandex stands out as a rare large network that doesn't seem to tolerate misuse. Hackers and spammers are kicked out in less than a day, and it's often followed by an apology for the incident. Their only faut is Putin's control.
Google doesn't care what's done with their services as long as the victims aren't on Google. I'm pretty sure Google is controlling politicians, not the other way around.
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