.RUSSIA'S ruby industry is struggling. On January first the G7, a group of wealthy nations, and the European Association prohibited imports of harsh gemstones extracted in Russia-- a third of the complete extracted worldwide in 2022. On January 3rd the EU added Russia's condition mining provider, and its president, to its penalties listing. This is actually the very first stage of an extensive penalties scheme: in March the G7 and also EU will prohibit Russian treasures that have been cut and also polished abroad. In September they will certainly offer a license program to validate where gemstones were actually unearthed. These steps add up to the largest improvement to business in years. Why has it taken so long to impose decrees on Russia's precious stone industry-- as well as what influence will they possess?