GEOPOLITICS
NEWS, OPINION + ANALYSIS
Millions of taxpayer dollars are given to Russian companies to maintain the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Critics claim the money is used to fuel Vladimir Putin’s war machine
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAS PAID RUSSIAN companies over $8 million to maintain its embassy in Moscow, a Newsweek investigation has found, with one company that was awarded a contract later placed under sanction by Canada.
Shortly after launching its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia was slapped with economic sanctions by the United States and its allies around the world. The U.S. went on to seize approximately $300 billion of Russian Central Bank assets as well as $30 billion of assets of officials close to President Vladimir Putin.
The embassy contracts have drawn criticism from campaign groups and politicians, including Idaho Republican Congressman Russ Fulcher.
“Even if these contracts are relatively small, I voted on legislation to halt American investments into Russia, and providing jobs for their citizens is doing just that,” he said. The U.S. ceased using certain Libyan-owned products and businesses for its diplomatic mission in Tripoli, a source who used to work in government told Newsweek, when the North African nation was under sanction following the fall of the Gaddafi regime. This had led some Russia watchers to wonder why the same cannot be done in Moscow.
The U.S. government, however, has suggested it is not possible.
Can using Russian workers and resources be justified as the price of maintaining a diplomatic presence in the country? Newsweek investigates.
‘Significant Income for Russia’
According to a Newsweek analysis of procurement data, the government has awarded 41 contracts amounting to $8,054,780.36 in value to 12 Russian companies.
Three contracts estimate potential ongoing work, meaning the total funding of Russian companies since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine could rise to $13,12,938.25.
The companies provide services such as landscaping, painting, management consulting, repair maintenance, transportation and janitorial work. The contracts Newsweek analyzed began after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though the U.S. has procured Russian companies to work on its embassy since before the war. The business relationships last for varying durations, with some spanning years. Some contracts were open to competition, while others were not. Forty of the contracts were awarded by the Department of State, with one by the Department of Agriculture.
One contract, worth $26,847, which lasted between March 2022 and September 2023, was with Russia’s second-largest telecommunications company, VimpelCom, which was
