Russia

The largest of all Eastern European countries, Russia lives up to its grand historical reputation as a major player on the world’s marketplace. More and more Russian companies and individuals are expanding internationally and setting up in foreign jurisdictions to acquire foreign assets, work with foreign partners or streamline their international legal structure. Setting up abroad can be challenging due to the different cultural, legal and economic environment. We can support you. At the crossroads of finance, tax and accounting, our clients count on us to look out for their best interests.

From our Moscow office, we support our Russian clients in setting up entities in foreign jurisdictions with our local offices through a number of complementary services. In the pre-setup phase, we offer consultation on the practical aspects of the setup, management and administrative maintenance of foreign entities. Plus, we support in fulfilling foreign due diligence and “know your client” obligations as well as conducting general coordination work with our local offices. In the post-setup phase, we help you to monitor and control your foreign entities in order to allow you to administrate entities in foreign jurisdictions in an efficient and effective manner.

You know what you want. With over 1,000 staff across the globe, we have the local knowledge and the global network to get you there.

Geography	Europe (the area east of the Urals is considered part of Asia), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean - 60 00 N, 100 00 E
Capital	Moscow
Time zone	UTC + 2 to UTC + 11; Moscow UTC +3
Population	140,041,247 (July 2009 est.)
Nationality	Noun: Russian(s) - Adjective: Russian
Languages	Russian, many minority languages
Government type	Federation
Legal system	Based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Economy overview	Russia ended 2008 with GDP growth of 6.0%, following 10 straight years of growth averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Over the last six years, fixed capital investment growth and personal income growth have averaged above 10%, but both grew at slower rates in 2008. Growth in 2008 was driven largely by non-tradable services and domestic manufacturing, rather than exports. During the past decade, poverty and unemployment declined steadily and the middle class continued to expand. Russia also improved its international financial position, running balance of payments surpluses since 2000. Foreign exchange reserves grew from $12 billion in 1999 to almost $600 billion by end July 2008, which include $200 billion in two sovereign wealth funds: a reserve fund to support budgetary expenditures in case of a fall in the price of oil and a national welfare fund to help fund pensions and infrastructure development. Total foreign debt is approximately one-third of GDP. The state component of foreign debt has declined, but commercial short-term debt to foreigners has risen strongly. These positive trends began to reverse in the second half of 2008. The global credit crunch in September caused the Russian stock market to fall by roughly 70%, primarily due to margin calls that were difficult for many Russian companies to meet. The global crisis also affected Russia's banking system, which faced liquidity problems. The Russian government responded quickly in early October 2008, initiating a rescue plan of over $200 billion that was designed to increase liquidity in the financial sector, to help firms refinance foreign debt, and to support the stock market. The government also unveiled a $20 billion tax cut plan and other safety nets for society and industry. Meanwhile, a 70% drop in the price of oil since mid-July further exacerbated imbalances in external accounts and the federal budget. Foreign exchange reserves dropped to around $435 billion by end 2008, as the Central Bank continued to support the ruble. In the first year of his term, President MEDVEDEV outlined a number of economic priorities for Russia including improving infrastructure, innovation, investment, and institutions; reducing the state's role in the economy; reforming the tax system and banking sector; developing one of the biggest financial centres in the world, combating corruption, and improving the judiciary. Russia is well on its way to secure accession to the WTO.
Currency	Russian ruble (RUB)