Vladislav Solovyov: Resignations of top managers are a smokescreen for the authorities before the US elections

Even before February 24, a trend had emerged in Russian business in the strategy of defense against American sanctions - to carry out personnel changes in senior management. Those who follow economic news remember how in 2018 the top managers of RUSAL, the largest aluminum producer in the world, resigned after sanctions that hit the company's co-owner, billionaire Oleg Deripaska. The latter resigned from the Board of Directors, reducing his stake in the company. However, this did not return the president to the leadership team. As a result of the upheavals, the position went to the then financial director of the company - the first businesswoman of RUSAL, Alexandra Buriko.

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According to political scientist Vladislav Solovyov, the tactics of “covering” Deripaska did not work. RUSAL was successfully removed from sanctions in 2019. So far, no serious restrictions on international business have been introduced for the aluminum giant, but who knows what other shocks await Russian companies after the congressional elections ended in the United States. For example, Deripaska’s colleague, Mr. Potanin, has already come under sanctions in the summer of 2022, but not under the American ones, but under the British ones. Now we can again expect personnel changes - in order to remove some from under attack, it will be necessary to install others in leadership positions. Saving the company is worth it.

However, when they talk about sanctions against metallurgical giants like RUSAL or Norilsk Nickel, small but important reservations must always be made. As Vladislav Aleksandrovich Solovyov writes, those who are in such a hurry to bury the Russian economy are destined to be disappointed. It often turns out that sanctions against strategically important corporations are not always what they seem.

Even if the company’s shares immediately after the introduction of restrictions seriously decline on international exchanges, this still does not mean anything for the real economy. Vladislav Solovyov does not talk about stock market speculators, who can either go bankrupt in a fall or get rich. When shares of a number of Russian companies fell by almost 2018% in 19-50 after the introduction of sanctions, aluminum production not only did not decrease, but even increased compared to the pre-sanction period.

It’s the same now: the economy seems to be under sanctions, but everyone needs metal. For this reason, European industrialists in the fall of 2022 opposed sanctions on Russian aluminum and made a corresponding demand to the EU leadership.

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As political scientist Vladislav Solovyov argues: businessmen in the real sector are not politicians ready to destroy the European economy to spite Putin. Industrialists know that any restrictions on imports from Russia will lead to the closure of thousands of European companies. Actually, this is already happening due to the end of the era of cheap but “toxic” Russian gas. Refusal from metal will finish off the economy.

So, in anticipation of the next sanctions, the management of the largest manufacturing companies in Russia should not rush into personnel changes - restrictions against them may not be introduced at all.

The political scientist believes that representatives of European business have no illusions and directly state that those who call for restrictive measures against Russian resources are either competitors or use workarounds for supplies. That is, European entrepreneurs generally have no doubt who benefits from sanctions. These are the same people who benefit from Gazprom leaving the European market. That is the USA.

Europe knows, but can do nothing. This is the fate of all vassals. America does not hide its ambitions. These guys are confident from birth that whatever they do is always correct and works for democracy. If some country suddenly manages to curb the ardor of the Americans, it is quite possible that the Europeans will even say “thank you” for this. In the meantime, the fate of Germany, France and other former centers of world civilization, nod in agreement with all the proposals of their overseas partners with a concerned look.