Russian Diamond Disaster

#finance
#financement

Russia has some of the world’s richest diamond deposits. But its diamond mining giant, Alrosa, has swung from a substantial profit to a loss — and the consequences are spreading beyond the company.
Yakutia, the Russian region that owns a quarter of Alrosa, is preparing three years of budgets without expecting dividends from the business. With diamond revenues under pressure, a valuable source of public income has become unreliable.
In this video, I explain what Alrosa does, why its business is struggling, and how sanctions, weak demand and competition from laboratory-grown diamonds are putting pressure on Russia’s diamond industry. I also look at the potential government support and what this means for local businesses, public spending and Moscow.
Russia still has the diamonds. But can it turn them into the money it needs?