Economy

Europe’s LNG imports hit record 142 bln cubic meters in 2025

In December, LNG imports also hit a record 12.7 billion cubic meters

War-torn Sudan sees gold mining boom

Sudan produced 70 tonnes of gold in 2025, exceeding planned targets, the state-owned company says

From collapse fears to resilience: How Russia reshaped its economy by the end of 2025

A deep dive into how state influence, Asian trade, and domestic production are reshaping the Russian economy

Luxury rubble: Real estate prices in Russian-occupied Donbas skyrocket despite widespread destruction, shelling, and water shortages

Housing prices in Russian-occupied parts of the Ukrainian Donbas have risen by 30% to 40% since 2020. For most local residents, housing has become entirely unaffordable. Paradoxically, proximity to the front line is what makes the housing “elite” — it is being bought up by Russian soldiers who have been deployed to Donbas and want to sleep in apartments rather than in dugouts or barracks. As a result, despite constant strikes, interrupted water supply, and the general chaos of war, apartments in Donetsk can cost several times more than in the comparatively calm city of Rostov.

Into the shadows: Sanctions have reduced Russia from an oil superpower to a global energy disrupter

After four years of strict financial and technological sanctions, Russia’s share in global oil production has fallen from 12% to 11% and in overall trade from 13% to 11%. The drop may look small, but it is not the quantity but the quality that has changed most. Russia has completely lost its status as an oil superpower. Whereas Moscow once set the terms, it now plays by rules imposed on it, explains Tatiana Mitrova, an expert on the global energy system. Russia continues to sell oil, but it plays an ever smaller role in shaping its price (which has fallen to its lowest level since before the start of the invasion). Although India and China will not be able to give up Russian oil — not even under pressure from the United States — Western sanctions have still pushed Russia into the shadow market, turning the country from a stabilizer into a “disrupter” of energy markets.

Dressed for disaster: Russian fashion retail collapses despite losing Western competition

Contrary to the optimistic forecasts of 2022, the mass departure of international brands did not lead to rapid growth among Russian clothing manufacturers. Intensifying fiscal pressure and widespread uncertainty, rising prices for raw materials and accessories, competition from China, and an overall decline in demand (in 2025, shoppers were unmoved even by Black Friday) have combined to doom the sector. True, there are isolated success stories among premium brands, but the mass market is represented mostly by retail operators importing foreign goods. This is not import substitution, but import placement, fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev notes.