Russia eyes sanctions workarounds in energy, gold, crypto

now, “the biggest two avenues that Russia has are China and energy,”

The globe's dependence on petrochemical industry products has allowed it to be subjected to the control of madmen and other fascists.

Freedom from the petrochemical barons controlling the planet.

Sanctions are backfiring, as usual.

Very reductionist thinking.

The sanctions are removing the oligarchs’ wealth. As oligarchs control Russia (it’s an oligarchy), this puts pressure on them to overthrow Putin, or end up a broke peon lining up for cabbage with the people.

The only way this war ends is for the people of Russia to rise up and remove Putin. Until then let them eat cabbage.

Bronco

A weak Ruble actually helps the Russian government.

They are still getting billions in USD by selling oil and gas to Germany and China.

They can then transfer that USD to Ruble domestically and pay the salaries of government workers, including the military.

A low Ruble actually lowers the expenses of the Russian government.

Sanctions are backfiring, as usual.

You do know they can just print more Rubles right? When they want to pay their people.

But when they want to pay anyone else in the world, that's when the need $US.

A week ruble means prices will go up for the average Ivan in the street.

A weak Ruble actually helps the Russian government.

Should have told putin sooner. Why did he have to wait for sanctions to boost his economy?

This is a global challenge of ethics and morals. All of the countries should cease relations with Russia. If they don't, then they should also be regarded as a pariah.

You're either with us or against us. It's time to choose sides right now.

StrangerlandToday  07:41 am JST

Sanctions are backfiring, as usual.

Very reductionist thinking. 

The sanctions are removing the oligarchs’ wealth. As oligarchs control Russia (it’s an oligarchy), this puts pressure on them to overthrow Putin, or end up a broke peon lining up for cabbage with the people. 

The only way this war ends is for the people of Russia to rise up and remove Putin. Until then let them eat cabbage.

I like cabbage

I like cabbage

I hope you love it. “Like” probably won’t be enough to get you through years of lining up for it.

Regarding Russia obtaining funds in this way, Anonymous [who have declared cyberwar on Russia], needs to take note and stop Russia from obtaining money in this way. Go Anonymous!

And here is one reason, like it or not, that the world economy runs on the $$$$$$

Sanctions are backfiring, as usual.

I would wait a bit longer to see how all this affects Russian individuals, a problem with data and info coming fro Russia is Putin and his oligarchs control information and media, so there's little chance the whole truth can be known, beyond anecdotal information Russians living outside areas controlled by Putin might be able to send out to Russians who've been able to escape Putin's control .

Odd that some people still supporting Putin, include those who'd moaned people in Canada and New Zealand are not free. How about comparing the freedoms Kiwis and Canucks have today and have long had, with those stuck in the Russian Federation.

PTownsendToday  07:26 am JST

now, “the biggest two avenues that Russia has are China and energy,”

The globe's dependence on petrochemical industry products has allowed it to be subjected to the control of madmen and other fascists.

Why did Biden bought 250 million barrel oil from Russia last year???

Why do Biden beg OPEC to produce more oil???

Now crying for help from Europe!!!

We are going to die as the price are shooting up like a rocket..

The weakest leader and blind worshippers ... good combination .. NO ABILITY TO HANDLE A GLOBAL ISSUE..

Ultimate winner in this war will be China........ China will get all the missile technology and oil and gas for a very very cheap price....

The transactions are not in $$ it is a barter system .... Just exchange with Yuan .... A new international currency

Next winner is Biden family as they will get enough back door cash from China...

Europe will buy more weapons from USA.,,, The Biden team get commission from weapon manufacturers and supplies ...

We ordinary citizens will pay $10 for gallon, and big tax for utilities... And import trillions of dollars from China...

That support Russia and China...

This is what Biden did to us ..

If there is a good leader this would not have happened .. No bloodshed and no invasion from the first hand ..

I think you need to eat more greens.

I hear they are pretty cheap at Costco.

I don’t know if the Russian people will have such luxury available to them in the event of Putin running the country down.

-during this cold winter.

It's March. It's spring. Cut Russia off. By next winter, Putin will be gone and things will be back to normal. Just get on with it.

Mr. Biden didn't buy a drop of oil from Russia. Do you know how oil refineries operate? They are tailored to the quality of oil "feed stock" they use. There are I think three refineries on the US Gulf Coast that used to belong to Citgo when that company was owned by Venezuelan interests. Citgo refined Venezuelan oil in the US for the US market. Venezuelan oil is "sour", meaning high in tar and sulfur. The refineries using that feed stock are designed for that kind of oil only. You can't run "sweet" crude, meaning crude oil that is lighter with less or no tar and lower in sulfur in those refineries without shutting them down and doing major modifications to them. Their fractile distillation towers and other major components have to be changed. When the US embargoed Venezuelan oil those refiners had to find a new source of sour feed stock. California oil is sour, and so is Russian oil. Due to the Jones Act that forces ships transiting between two US ports to be US made, US owned and manned by US citizens, and because such oil from California would have to pass through the Panama Canal to get to the Gulf Coast at about $400,000 per trip, it is actually cheaper to ship oil from Russia to the US on foreign flagged foreign owned ships than it is to ship oil from the west to gulf coast on a US flagged ship. The Russian oil was also relatively cheap. So those refiners switched to Russian oil. Now they will likely have to find yet another source of feed stock.

In any event, nobody is loading Russian oil, gas or wheat right now. No banks are willing to write anyone a letter of credit to buy anything from Russia. Insurance companies are telling shippers not to enter Russian ports. Some shipping companies and ship owners are likewise refusing to carry cargos to or from Russia. Commerce is stopped.

In any event, nobody is loading Russian oil, gas or wheat right now. No banks are willing to write anyone a letter of credit to buy anything from Russia. Insurance companies are telling shippers not to enter Russian ports. Some shipping companies and ship owners are likewise refusing to carry cargos to or from Russia. Commerce is stopped.

The quarantine has begun. We need to put a mask around Russia.

These sanctions are a casing of Western politicians of smiting their face by cutting off their nose. While the cacaphonia of warmongering protests against Putins invasion of Ukraine goes on, Europe still gets 40% of its gas through those pipelines in Ukraine. And have to pay for it. Lets see how well these posturing politicians do once they stop paying, and Russia actually stops the gas (and food, remember that too) supply.

In the event, what Putin wants is regime change in the Ukraine, and not annexation. The way to end this is staying out of it, not endless escalation.

But then again, there are lucrative weapons sales and payments from Ukrainian energy oligarchs...

@Willie, the EU has enough gas stored to make it through the current winter and well into next summer. If Russia turned the valves off right now they would be ok until next fall. They have time to source new gas supplies. Russia is not the only gas supplier to the EU. The US has been selling them gas. Until now the EU has refused to buy US gas for environmental reasons. US gas production methods allow vast amounts of methane to enter the atmosphere and EU environmental regs frowned on buying gas from nations who's production methods emit that much. Events have changed their tune. There are also new fields entering production offshore from Israel and Cypress will add to the mix of sources available to the EU.

The willingness to abandon a democratic nation to a totalitarian police state without a fight speaks volumes. If you are familiar with Vladimir Putin's views regarding what he terms "Russky Mir" or the Russian World, you would know he is intent on reconstituting the old Russian Empire, not the USSR but the Russian Empire that existed before the Bolshevik Revolution. He sees Ukraine as integral to Russky Mir, along with the Balkan states and Moldava. Mr. Putin is not interested just in regime change. He is intent on taking other nations and annexing them into Russia. The west has every right to resist this. In fact it would be foolish not to. This is very much like Germanys annexation of Sudetenland and Austria, the opening shots in a possible world war. Think how different history would have been had the democratic nations of the time had stopped Hitler early. This is where the world's democracies are now vis-a-vis Russia. Failure to act today means a greater and more destructive war tomorrow. Do not be naive about Russia's intentions.

One can see it as 'Putin having to find a way around the sanctions' but it would be more realistic to say the corporations that rely on buying things from Russia need to find a way around the sanctions before they collapse.

Factories in Germany have already had to shut down, and it's only going to get worse.

Today and tomorrow the shortages will spread without the Russian government having to make a move. Of course it could retaliate by stopping the export of things that the US refuses to even discuss, because the lack of them would be such a problem to the Imperium that all of the rhetoric and the demonization wouldn't matter at all, and instead of the Putin the Biden would fall.

There are some people promoting the notion that the EU only has to import Russian gas during the winter.

They're the same sort of people who promote the notion that the 'Russian invasion is bogged down by stiff resistance' despite the fact that they are actually moving faster than the US invasion of Iraq did, and the invasion of Iraq only started after weeks of massive bombardments of Iraq to 'soften them up'.

PS, you might want to check out the civilian death toll just the 'shock and awe' phase racked up, and think about what that says about the supposed 'barbarity and war crimes' this invasion is supposed to feature.

In the event, what Putin wants is regime change in the Ukraine, and not annexation. The way to end this is staying out of it, not endless escalation.

Putin doesn't get a vote on regime change. He is not a Ukrainian citizen.

Russians need to rise up and overthrow their dictatorship of a government. As long as Putin is in charge, the virus that is Russia must not be allowed to participate in humanity with the rest of us. They need to be quarantined.

https://flip.it/YUu8R2

Russian entrepreneur offers $1 million bounty on Putin

Russians are starting to get it. Putin is a disease that needs to be excised.

If Russia stops fighting,

…there’s no war.

If Ukraine stops fighting,

…there’s no Ukraine.

They are still getting billions in USD by selling oil and gas to Germany and China.

They are also still selling oil and gas to the US and Japan now. Don’t leave that out.

In any event, nobody is loading Russian oil, gas or wheat right now. 

Nobody told you US companies can and is still buying oil from Russia even as we speak?