Economic sanctions against Russia are no longer targeted. It is too early to assess how strong their influence will be: there is too much uncertainty, it is unknown how far they will go and what the response to them will be. But Russian companies are already forced to adjust their plans.

The column is run by the group "Direct Speech"

Sergey Chernin, President of the Gazenergostroy Corporation:

“We, of course, will find ways to hold on and even increase income, but pretending that the sanctions did not affect us is not entirely fair. This is especially true for the company's numerous foreign assets. Moreover, it is not even specific actions that are having an impact, but emotions, the lack of that very tolerance that Europe was so proud of: additional questions arise for banks and, in general, the attitude towards Russian business has become worse. For example, we still have not received a reduction in property tax and confirmation of a European grant for the creation of four innovation and technology clusters based on the bankrupt Valmiera meat processing plant in Latvia. All references when making negative decisions go to Ukraine in the absence of complaints about the economics of the process. For me, this reaction is strange, because while maintaining good relationships on a human level, we have to adjust our investment plans.

Alexander Sizintsev, CEO of the online travel agency Biletix:

— The tourism industry is already “shaking”: several large tour operators have gone bankrupt, and airlines are becoming active players in the foreign policy confrontation. Since the beginning of the year, we have observed a decrease in foreign tourism in favor of domestic tourism. Compared to the previous year, the share of sales for domestic transportation increased from 54.6% to 58.4%, and for external transportation decreased from 45.4% to 41.6%. And this trend will continue: propaganda is becoming more and more effective, the ruble and real incomes of the population are falling. The solution is to switch to domestic tourism. Of course, working conditions are becoming tougher, but not critical. It will not come to the point of laying off staff.

Dmitry Kalantyrsky, President and Chairman of the Board of SMP Bank:

— Our bank was one of the first to be sanctioned, so we have already learned to work in the new conditions. By and large, we cannot carry out only transactions related to transfers in dollars. The rest has already been “fixed” one way or another. In addition, the bank began to work even more actively in the domestic market, develop the most popular products, and in addition, we took Mosoblbank for rehabilitation. Ultimately, our results for the first half of the year are better than in 2013. Although, of course, we would prefer to live without force majeure situations.

Elena Borisova, commercial director of the DaTravel.com project (travel planning service):

— Travel planning services, on the contrary, expect an increase in sales. They will receive an influx of clients due to growing distrust of traditional travel agencies. As for business survival in the face of declining demand and rising prices, the most marginal projects will remain. There is no need to wait for investments and loans - the capital market is closed. Reduced commissions from airlines too, since along with the need to reduce costs, they need to load their fleets of newly purchased or leased aircraft (they can’t just hand them over). It is difficult to do this without agents - the share of agents in sales is at least 60%.

Dmitry Olyunin, Chairman of the Board of Rosbank:

— The impact of sanctions is most noticeable in the slowdown in economic growth, which, in turn, slows down the development of banks. Having gone through various crises, our banks have gained experience in working in difficult conditions, and now they have enough strength to maintain normal operations. Despite geopolitical tensions, Russian business in the second quarter of the year became one of the most profitable for the Societe Generale group outside France. The group has more than once expressed its position that it views its presence in Russia as a long-term prospect. This is a development strategy.

Vladislav Tetyukhin, member of the board of directors of the VSMPO-Avisma corporation:

- Not yet. The contract with Boeing was recently extended until 2022. We entered into a contract with Airbus for the supply of stampings for aircraft. All contracts with Americans and Europeans have been extended. The corporation was not subject to sanctions; Mr. Chemezov and Rostec, which owns no more than 20% of VSMPO, are on the sanctions list. In general, everything depends on us: if we are competitive and provide high-quality material, then we will have a good future.

How are the sanctions affecting you?