Putin places JTI's Russian tobacco business under temporary management

On 5 November 2026 President Vladimir Putin signed a decree placing the Russian business of tobacco maker JTI (Japan Tobacco International) under temporary management. Control of JTI's interests in four Russian manufacturing companies passed to Promyshlennye Aktivy (Industrial Assets), a Russian joint-stock company. A follow-up decree the next day reportedly added further JTI units, including its Russian sales company.

The decree relied on an April 2023 presidential order on the temporary management of property linked to countries Moscow calls "unfriendly". Under it, the foreign owner formally keeps title but loses the right to take management decisions. Russian officials have said this is not nationalisation, though such measures have often preceded a change of ownership.

The move mattered because it extended the Kremlin's takeovers of Western and other foreign company assets into the tobacco sector. Japan Tobacco confirmed the step, and Tokyo demanded that Moscow reverse it. For foreign firms still operating in Russia, the case was a reminder that their assets could be seized at short notice.