Putin to Western companies in Russia: What’s yours is mine

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting via a video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow.
Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS

A day after assuming “temporary control” over the assets of two state-owned European energy companies, the Kremlin warned of more soft takeovers in the future.

This week, Vladimir Putin took control of the Russia-based power plants of Finland’s Fortum and Germany’s Uniper as an answer to Western seizures of Russian assets abroad. The move, which Russia says is temporary, highlights the challenges facing Western companies with a presence in Russia. When Putin invaded Ukraine last year, roughly a thousand multinational corporations — including Fortum and Uniper — announced they would reduce or suspend operations in the country.

But 15 months later, as many as 2,000 Western firms are still there, often via subsidiaries with different names. By paying taxes or providing goods and services to the Russian economy, critics say, these companies are in effect abetting Putin’s war.

So why are they still there? For one thing, exiting is costly. Most companies can’t simply write off valuable assets, and getting good money for them isn’t an option either – the Kremlin requires any departing companies to sell at a steep discount. Financial sanctions and Kremlin restrictions, meanwhile, make it hard to get cash out of the country. But for many companies the calculus is more pragmatic: It’s worth it to quietly keep a foothold in Russia. When the war ends, they’ll be ready to rock anew in a market of 140 million people.

What would you do if you ran a company with operations in Russia? Cut your losses or keep your head down? Write to let us know here.

More from GZERO Media

A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. shown in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 11, 2025.
Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via REUTERS
A drone view shows the scene where U.S. right-wing activist, commentator, Charlie Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 11, 2025.
REUTERS/Cheney Orr

The assassination of 31-year old conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college event in Utah yesterday threatened to plunge a deeply divided America further into a cycle of rising political violence.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro stands next to members of the armed forces, on the day he says that his country would deploy military, police and civilian defenses at 284 "battlefront" locations across the country, amid heightened tensions with the U.S., in La Guaira, Venezuela, September 11, 2025.
Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS

284: Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has deployed military assets to 284 “battlefront” locations across the country, amid rising tensions with the US.

A member of Nepal army stands guard as people gather to observe rituals during the final day of Indra Jatra festival to worship Indra, Kumari and other deities and to mark the end of monsoon season.
REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

Nepal’s “Gen-Z” protest movement has looked to a different generation entirely with their pick for an interim leader. Protest leaders say they want the country’s retired chief justice, Sushila Karki, 73, to head a transitional government.