0652GMT//Kremlin cancels its main weapons fair; sanctions delays repairs to refineries; Putin visits Magnitogorsk
WEAPONS FAIR CANCELLED: The Kremlin has cancelled its biggest annual weapons fair "Army" next month, the Izvestia and Kommersant newspapers reported without giving a reason. (COMMENT: If confirmed, this is a humiliation for the Kremlin. It set up the weapons fair in 2015 to show off Russian military kit. But Russian weapon exports have collapsed since the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine because of Russia's pariah state status and the weak performance of much of its military equipment during the early stages of its invasion.)
PUTIN GIVES MANUFACTURING A PEP TALK: Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited the Magnitogorsk steel plant in the Urals for the first time since 2019. This is the largest steel plant in Russia. There, he spoke to workers about the economy and Russia's slowing birth rate. (COMMENT: This visit dripped in symbolism. Not only is Magnitogorsk the largest steel plant in Russia, but it was also the focus of major Soviet propaganda drives to boost production. Putin knows that his photoshoots and chats with workers at the plant will resonate. He has made reversing slumping manufacturing output a priority.)
REFINERY REPAIRS DELAYED: Repairs to broken oil refineries are taking longer than expected because Western sanctions have slowed the import of vital spare parts, Sergei Tsivilev, Russia's energy minister, said on Wednesday. (COMMENT: Although Tsivilev didn't reference them, but Ukrainian drone attacks have damaged several Russian oil refineries over the past year. This was an unusually candid comment from Tsivilev. The attacks on the refineries and the delays to their repairs have pushed up the price of fuel.)
CENSORSHIP: The Kremlin ordered its internet censors to intensify their work, targeting people who search for "knowingly extremist material". (COMMENT: This is code for searches that the Kremlin classifies as opposing its war in Ukraine or as pro-West.)
VARIABLE MORTGAGE RATES: Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian Parliament, proposed a variable mortgage rate in Russia that differed across regions. He also suggested that families with several children should pay a lower rate. (COMMENT: This is only a suggestion, but Putin is obsessed with boosting Russia's flagging birth rate. Families with several children already get various subsidies and allowances.)
INTEREST RATES TO FALL: Russia's Central Bank will continue to cut its key interest rate because inflation is slowing and the "over-valued" rouble is hurting exports, analysts surveyed by the Vedomosti newspaper said. (COMMENT: The Central Bank cut Russia's interest rate to 20% from 21% last month. Analysts now predict the average interest rate for the year will be 17.4%, down from a previous estimate of 19.3%.)
HOME EXERCISE: Yandex, Russia's version of Google, will start manufacturing home exercise equipment such as treadmills and exercise bikes. (COMMENT: The company is responding to growing demand from consumers to work out from home. Russian military recruiters have raided gyms for men to send to Russia's army fighting in Ukraine.)
FREE WIFI: Regional governments across Russia have installed more free wifi hotspots to support people through increasingly frequent mobile internet blackouts. (COMMENT: Russian cities have turned mobile internet services off and on to counter the threat from Ukrainian drones.)
NEWS MATRIX:
It was a surprise to read that the Kremlin has cancelled its main weapons fair, even though we already knew that its arms sales have slowed. Predicted interest rate cuts and rare candid comment from a Russian minister that repairs to oil refineries were running slowly are also important stories.