Pushing antitrust forward with Putin’s support: an interview with Igor Artemiev

Igor Artemiev has led Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service for 15 years and seen it grow into one of the world’s most competent competition authorities. In recent years, the antitrust watchdog has stepped into the ring against some of the largest global companies. At the same time, it tries to instil the principles of competition in an economy that still grapples with its Soviet past – state involvement, oligopolists and more – and has suffered from rounds of international sanctions. Artemiev sat down with Charles McConnell in mid-September on the sidelines of this year’s BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – competition conference in Moscow. Joined by his deputy Andrey Tsyganov, Artemiev touched on some of the agency’s successes and priorities.