What Kommersant, RBC, Vedomosti, Interfax and Forbes Russia report — selected and summarized in English every morning, for readers who don't read Russian. Analysis-grade sourcing, no wire rehash. Data context in the Russia Terminal. Regional wires: Central Asia · Caucasus.
A thin weekend news cycle, dominated by state intervention in physical markets: the diesel export ban was extended for another month, rail freight subsidies were topped up to keep grain moving around a disrupted Azov-Black Sea corridor, and Ankara relaxed its import rules for Russian wheat.
The government signed a decree extending the export ban on diesel, marine fuel and gasoils shipped directly by producers through 30 September 2026; the restriction had been due to expire on 31 August. The cabinet press service said the decision was taken "to maintain a stable situation on the domestic fuel market", where a seasonal consumption peak has coincided with a run of unplanned refinery repairs and retail volume limits at filling stations in several regions. The wider fuel export ban runs to 31 January 2027, the gasoline ban has been extended to the same date, jet fuel exports are blocked to 30 November, and Russia began importing refined products in July — a set of measures that removes Russian diesel from export markets for at least another month and signals the domestic supply squeeze has not eased since Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak declared partial stabilisation in late July.
Source: Interfax, 29 Aug 2026
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed an order releasing more than 9.7 billion rubles (about $113 million at the Central Bank's 29 August rate of 85.60 to the dollar) to compensate rail operators for preferential tariffs on agricultural cargo. The government explicitly linked the allocation to conditions in the Azov-Black Sea basin, saying the funds should keep the domestic market for agricultural raw materials and food stable and allow export commitments to be met in full; Rostov region declared a state of emergency on 28 August after drone attacks disrupted shipping. Preferential rail tariffs for agricultural goods have been subsidised since 2019, but the timing points to rail absorbing volumes that would normally move through southern ports — a cost and lead-time factor for buyers of Russian grain and oilseeds.
Source: Interfax, 29 Aug 2026
Turkey has dropped two of five smut pathogens from the list of organisms whose absence it requires in wheat imports from Russia, according to the federal centre for agricultural product safety assessment (TsOK APK). Ankara introduced the tighter rules on 4 August 2026, treating Tilletia barclayana, Tilletia indica, Tilletia controversa, Tilletia caries and Tilletia laevis as prohibited pathogens verified by laboratory testing; after talks between Rosselkhoznadzor and the Turkish agriculture ministry's food and control directorate in Ankara in July and Moscow in August, Tilletia caries and Tilletia laevis were removed. Turkey is one of the largest buyers of Russian wheat, and the change restores unimpeded shipment of consignments that would have been rejected under the August rules.
Source: Interfax, 29 Aug 2026
In a Miner's Day message published on the Kremlin website, President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the "difficult period" the coal industry is going through and pledged to address transport logistics, production safety and conditions in mining towns. He put output last year at 440 million tonnes, unchanged from the previous year, and labour productivity up 18% over the past five years, and placed Russia second in the world by coal reserves, third by exports and sixth by production, with domestic demand for coking and thermal coal fully covered. The statement offers no new instruments, but confirms at the top level that a sector squeezed by sanctions, freight costs and weak Asian prices remains politically protected — relevant for rail capacity allocation and for suppliers to Russian mining operations.
Source: Interfax, 30 Aug 2026