In a move that blurs the line between administration and appropriation, Vladimir Putin has signed a decree placing 16 Western-linked businesses under the control of an obscure, newly formed Russian firm — a step Moscow frames as a geopolitical response to sanctions, but which history suggests may be a prelude to permanent transfer. The affected companies, including Nestlé, Auchan, FM Logistic, and Lemana Pro, represent tens of thousands of livelihoods suspended in the uncertain space between ownership and state control. This is not the first time Russia has used the instrument of temporary adm
Russia places Western firms' assets under state control via decree
Approximately 7,000 Nestlé employees and 30,000 Auchan employees face operational uncertainty as their employers' Russian assets come under state control.