Forbes: Foreign companies leaving Russia provide jobs for hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens

International companies that partially or completely leave Russia, against the backdrop of the Russian military operation in Ukraine and anti-Russian sanctions, provide jobs for more than 200 thousand people in the country, Forbes magazine calculated.

At the same time, according to the publication, the largest employer of the companies that announced their withdrawal is the world’s largest chain of fast food restaurants, McDonald’s, which employs 62,000 people in Russia, TASS reports.

Earlier, hundreds of foreign firms, including manufacturers of well-known world brands, announced a temporary or complete “withdrawal” from the Russian market (cessation of production, suspension of investments or activities in the Russian Federation), in response to the events in Ukraine and the sanctions of Western countries against Russia.

Recall that on February 21, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), and on February 24 he made an emergency appeal to the Russians and announced a special military operation in Donbass. In his speech, he stated that “circumstances require decisive action from Russia” and stressed that “Russia will not allow Ukraine to have nuclear weapons.”

In response to Russia’s actions, Western countries (USA, Canada, European Union, Great Britain, Japan) announced new, tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation, including financial and economic ones.

In particular, Russian banks fell under the sanctions, including Sberbank, VTB, Novikombank, FC Otkritie and Sovcombank, and for a number of state-owned companies it was difficult to attract foreign capital.

Later, the EU countries and the United States agreed to disconnect Russian banks that fell under sanctions from the international system of interbank transactions and information exchange SWIFT. In addition, it was decided to freeze the assets of the Bank of Russia, which will create difficulties for its use of international reserves. EU countries also pledged to take steps to limit the sale of citizenship — the so-called “golden passports” that allow wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government to become citizens of EU states and gain access to their financial systems. In addition, the European Union, the United States, Canada and a number of other countries have closed the sky for Russian aircraft.

You can follow the chronicle of events around Ukraine here.