A new set of laws allowing the Russian government to commandeer businesses for the war effort will further erode the rights of businesses and individuals, and will likely give additional pause to Western companies interested in returning to the Russian market in the future.

“Russia used to be considered a major emerging economy,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “With its war against Ukraine and in the face of economic sanctions, Russia is diminishing, not emerging, economically. New laws make even sharing information about Russian foreign economic activity more dangerous, as Russia seeks to hide economic activity that might fall under sanctions," he says. "Further, citizens face renewed scrutiny from security and law enforcement for sharing information with foreign organizations, which could be labeled illegal ‘confidential cooperation.’ Putin’s war has instigated a grand economic decoupling for Russia.”

Read more in the Forbes article, "New Laws In Russia: People ‘Can Be Imprisoned For Almost Anything’."