... more participants, which, in turn, will increase liquidity and trust in the Russian capital market. Seeing the rapid interest in pre-IPO and OTC platforms, I am confident that further development of this area will make the Russian stock market more competitive, sustainable and attractive to a wide audience of private investors.

... Kazakhstan in the future,” says Alexey Gromov, Director of the Energy and Finance Institute. Turkmenistan mainly exports its gas to China. While it has shown interest in diversifying its export routes, its relations with Russia remain strained due to competition with Gazprom in the gas market. “Turkmenistan has both the gas reserves and the technical capability to supply gas via Russia and Ukraine through the Central Asia–Center pipeline system. This system was widely used in the 1990s and ...

... and slowing economic growth. Furthermore, during rapid devaluation of money, people tend to spend or invest their funds more quickly, which can lead to an overheating economy and new cycles of price increases. In turn, accelerating inflation affects competitiveness: prices for export goods are rising faster than in other countries, negatively impacting the trade balance. Inflation undermines trust in the national currency: citizens and businesses look to convert their savings into dollars, euros,...

... sectors. For instance, consolidation in the mining and energy sectors has slowed due to sanctions restrictions and increased risk assessments for such projects. A similar situation is seen in the banking sector: regulatory pressure and intensifying competition are reducing the number of mergers between banks. Transactions in industry and construction also slow down: last year, sales of foreign assets primarily occurred in development and engineering, whereas such outflows have nearly vanished now....

... words, wage growth in Russia is outpacing productivity by nearly a factor of two. This gap poses risks for inflation and business performance: if companies have to pay employees significantly more without commensurate output gains, their costs rise and competitiveness can suffer. To maintain profitability, firms will need to either raise prices (further fueling inflation) or invest heavily in efficiency improvements. Many enterprises will likely channel resources into automation and worker training ...