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Western sanctions against the Russian Federation. New sanctions against Russia: a collapse will absolutely happen

Today, one of the most pressing topics is the application of sanctions against the Russian Federation by the European Union and the United States. The fairness of such actions in relation to our country raises many questions and disputes, as do the events that gave rise to them. But in at the moment Another thing is important: what goal are pursued by those who have imposed such political and economic restrictions on Russia? And what are the consequences of these sanctions? To answer these questions, it is necessary to consider both theoretical and practical aspects of the problem.

Concept

In the broad sense of the word, a sanction is a measure of influence aimed at restricting any type of activity. Sanctions are expressed in a ban on the implementation of various trade and economic agreements, measures to impede the political activities of a certain company or the state as a whole. Such restrictions can be partial or complete. For example, if we consider trade sanctions, the ban may apply to the import or export of a specific product. A full-fledged sanction implies a ban on all economic relations of a company or country with other subjects of a market economy.

Such measures of influence also have a downside. Sometimes a trade or political entity that applies sanctions against another entity suffers more than the one to whom these prohibitions were addressed. After all, a state whose certain activities are prohibited can establish retaliatory restrictions. That is why we should not forget that a sanction is an ambiguous phenomenon, the appearance of which can lead to unpredictable consequences.

Types of prohibitions

In the context of the modern political situation, it is necessary to consider penalties in international law. They should never be confused with responsibility. Thus, the country that violates the agreements bears responsibility for its misconduct. Sanctions, in turn, can be applied by the state whose rights have been violated. The violator of international treaties is obliged to bear responsibility for his illegal actions, and the injured party has the right to apply sanctions.

There are two types of prohibitions: collective and individual. Collective restrictions are those that follow in response to violations of international law and imply the suspension of membership in an alliance with other states, as well as a collective armed conflict with the offender.

Individual sanctions are most often associated with any legal restrictions on the activities of a particular state, the rupture of trade and other agreements, non-recognition of the position of the offender, and strengthened self-defense in the event of armed clashes.

Purposes of restrictions

Penalties usually serve several purposes. Firstly, such restrictions are aimed at changing the political system of the violating state. Political prohibitions may also apply to a specific area of ​​activity. A change in the regime of government, by the way, will most likely be an impetus for a change in political direction, so a sanction is a fairly effective way to achieve changes in one’s own interests in this area.

Secondly, sanctions are aimed at reducing the number of weapons a particular state has. Such actions help reduce the risk of armed confrontations and hostilities throughout the country.

Third, sanctions may prohibit the entry of any individuals to the territory of a certain state or, on the contrary, to force some people to leave the territory of a certain country.

Sanctions against the Russian Federation

The main political leaders of the Western powers have come to the decision that the Russian Federation is carrying out many military and political operations illegally. In this regard, our country was subjected to a number of restrictions that significantly affected the lives of the top officials of the state and ordinary residents.

Russians faced two types of sanctions: economic and political. The former have already been reflected in rising prices for imported goods and rising dollar and euro exchange rates.

Economic sanctions against Russia

Sanctions against the Russian Federation are measures from which our country has been suffering over the past year. Or does he not suffer? In any case, restrictions for “violations” of international law were imposed on Russia. What economic sanctions have the European Union and the United States imposed on the Russian Federation? First of all, this is an artificial growth of the euro and dollar, not supported by anything. For the first time in the history of international relations, the exchange rate of Western currencies was so high against the ruble. Today the situation has stabilized a little, but the rate still remains extremely high. All this threatened and continues to threaten a financial crisis and even a collapse and depreciation of the Russian currency.

As a result, many goods imported from European countries have become more expensive. World trademarks increased the amount that Russian companies must pay to produce products on their territory.

This is exactly what economic sanctions have become. The Russian Federation, according to experts, will not be able to emerge from the financial crisis earlier than in two years.

Political sanctions against the Russian Federation

A sanction is not only an economic, but also a political restriction. The countries of the European Union and the United States, as a “punishment” for the illegal, in their opinion, actions of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine, banned a group of Russian officials and oligarchs from entering their territory, and also froze their accounts in foreign banks.

Barack Obama, by the way, never came to support American athletes at Winter Olympics in Sochi last year. All this is an expression of hostility towards Russian politics and disrespect for world traditions.

Did such actions towards Russia lead to anything? Political sanctions have not produced any significant results. Of course, it has become much more difficult for citizens of our country to obtain a visa to the States and European countries; it now costs more, but in general the sanctions did not affect foreign policy Russian Federation in relation to Ukraine.

Methods of confrontation

Many economic and political prohibitions were introduced against our country. But the West itself already understands the disadvantage of severing relations with the Russian Federation, since many Eurozone countries have felt the impact of Russia’s retaliatory sanctions. In our country there are branches of more than 20 German companies, which, due to economic restrictions, are losing money, since the purchasing power of Russians has sharply decreased over the past year. In addition, approximately 300 thousand workers in Germany depend on trade relations with the Russian Federation, so EU sanctions hit not only our country, but also its key members.

Many European countries, by the way, oppose sanctions against the Russian Federation. States such as Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Spain do not want to continue punitive measures, since it is not profitable for them to spoil trade and political relations with such a strong power.

Possible consequences of sanctions

One of the main consequences for our state may be the impossibility of conducting financial transactions through some EU countries. That is, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance will have to look for ways to solve this problem through the territories of other states.

What other difficulties will Western sanctions entail? Russia will not be able, for example, to achieve significant economic growth (no more than 2-2.5%). According to experts, GDP may increase by only 1%. There remains a risk of reduced investment from both foreign and domestic enterprises in the event of a tense foreign policy situation.

At the beginning of August 2017, US President Donald Trump signed the Countering America's Enemies through Sanctions Act, tightening the regime of restrictions on several countries, including Russia. This step finally removed the last illusions about the imminent lifting or easing of sanctions. It is now obvious that we will have to live with them for many more years.

The rules of different countries governing sanctions against Russia have become so numerous and complex that it is no longer easy to understand them. This is what we will try to do now.

WHY WERE SANCTIONS IMPOSED ON RUSSIA?

The reason for imposing sanctions was not only the events in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. The first recent sanctions were introduced back in 2010–2012 as a result of the well-known corruption scandal. Previous disagreements with the West, including the 2008 war in Georgia, did not result in sanctions. In chronological order, the reasons for the sanctions were:

"Magnitsky case"

Let us recall that, according to some information, a number of government officials of the Russian Federation and private individuals created a conspiracy to steal large sums from the Russian budget. The scale of the alleged abuses and the death in prison of the US Heritage Foundation auditor Sergei Magnitsky caused widespread outcry, as a result of which the US, EU and several other countries adopted personal sanctions against the alleged perpetrators of the crime.

Currently, several dozen people are under sanctions, they are prohibited from entering these states, and all their property in the territory of these countries is blocked.

Sanctions in the Magnitsky case did not have much impact on the Russian economy. However, their political effect cannot be underestimated, since it was they who marked the final turn towards the irreversible deterioration of relations between Russia and the West and became a model for the introduction of subsequent, much more unpleasant sanctions.

For the war in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea

In 2014, the US, EU and some other countries introduced a series of sanctions against Russia as punishment for the annexation of Crimea and participation in events in Ukraine. Personal sanctions were adopted against individuals and organizations, “sectoral” sanctions against certain sectors of the Russian economy, as well as sanctions against Crimea.

For “cyber espionage” and interference in the US presidential election

At the end of 2016, just before leaving office, President Obama issued an executive order imposing sanctions for “malicious computer-based acts” against the United States, that is, for the alleged actions of Russian hackers during the US elections.

The list of those punished included the FSB, GRU and several other organizations. Several individuals were also subject to sanctions, for example, a certain hacker Belan nicknamed “Fedyunya”, Bogachev nicknamed “Monster”, as well as several GRU officials.

All of these individuals had their property blocked in the United States, and Americans were prohibited from any transactions with them. Obama also expelled a number of Russian diplomats from the country and took away two diplomatic dachas from the Russian embassy.

President Putin did not immediately impose retaliatory sanctions, apparently hoping for improved relations with the United States during Trump's presidency. However, when American sanctions against the Russian Federation were tightened in the summer of 2017, mirror measures were nevertheless taken belatedly - the American Embassy’s dacha in Serebryany Bor was taken away, and it was ordered to reduce staff.

For Syria

The United States has imposed extensive sanctions on the Syrian government over the ongoing civil war there. Several Russian entities were also subject to these sanctions, for example, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Tempbank, Tempbank employees, Russian Financial Alliance Bank (now defunct) and some others.

The Ukraine Support Act of 2014 also gave Obama the right to impose separate sanctions on the Russian Federation for the production and sale of defense products to Syria. However, the president did not use this right, since sanctions “for Ukraine” already covered a large number of people.

For everything together

Contrary to popular belief, the pretext for increasing sanctions under the recent US law passed in August 2017 was not only the alleged Russian interference in the US presidential election. The law refers to a very long list of Russian sins, including the annexation of Crimea, harm to Ukraine, support for the Syrian government, corruption, the fight against press freedom, interference in the internal affairs and elections of many countries around the world, and much more.

Since there was no reason to strengthen sanctions at this time, the prevailing opinion is that the adoption of this law was a purely domestic political American event, in which Russia was offered only the role of a whipping boy.

WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC CONTENT OF THE SANCTIONS?

Sanctions against the Russian Federation can be divided into several types according to their direct effect.

"Blocking sanctions" against individuals.

These are sanctions against individuals (legal and physical) who, for example, are involved in “the establishment of state power in the Crimean region of Ukraine without the permission of the Ukrainian government, thereby undermining democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine.” Others were subject to personal sanctions for other reasons: the Magnitsky case, cyber espionage, etc.

The property of these persons in the United States and other countries participating in the sanctions is blocked, and any transactions with them are prohibited. Restrictions also apply to organizations owned more than 50% by these individuals. Individuals are prohibited from entering the territory of these countries. The Americans are not even allowed to provide them with assistance of a purely humanitarian nature - to provide food, clothing, medicine.

The specific list of “blocked” persons is compiled by the US Treasury (Department of the Treasury) in consultation with the Department of State (Department of Foreign Affairs). Currently, there are about 300 names on such lists for various reasons.

Now current list individuals is very diverse, it includes a variety of people from Strelkov-Girkin and motorcyclist Zaldostanov to Kobzon and Ramzan Kadyrov. Prominent economic figures, such as the Rotenberg brothers, Kovalchuk brothers, Timchenko, etc., along with their subsidiaries, also ended up there. I.I. is also on the list. Sechin, but only in a personal capacity. Since Rosneft does not legally belong to him by more than 50%, the oil company is not subject to this particular type of sanctions.

The list also included many legal entities, primarily defense industry enterprises such as Uralvagonzavod and Almaz-Antey.

Sanctions against Crimea.

Any transactions “in relation to” Crimea are prohibited. Investments in enterprises located on the peninsula, purchase and sale of any goods, services, technologies and property in this territory are prohibited. The sanctions also specifically targeted about 50 Crimean enterprises (including, for example, the Yalta Film Studio), with which it is prohibited to conduct any transactions.

However, the US government did make some concessions - it issued exceptions, the so-called “general licenses”. Any person is allowed to sell agricultural products, some medicines, spare parts there, provide for use of some programs (for example, websites social networks), provision of certain telecommunications services. Private bank transfers to Crimea are permitted. True, in practice this is not feasible, since none of the banks operating in Crimea are connected to the SWIFT system, and do not have correspondent accounts in foreign banks.

Sectoral sanctions

This type of sanctions by the United States and its allies affects the most important sectors of the Russian economy - banking and energy, limiting the ability to invest in them and supply certain technologies and equipment. The August 2017 law also gave the US government the right to extend sanctions to the railway, mining and metallurgical sectors of the Russian economy. The essence of these sanctions is as follows:

Restrictions on transactions in shares and debt obligations.

It is prohibited to carry out transactions with shares of a number of specific largest companies in the energy and financial sectors of Russia, as well as with their debt obligations issued for more than a certain period.

“Debt transactions” include not only the purchase of bonds, but also simply the provision of loans.

These companies were divided into three groups:

  • Prohibition on transactions with newly issued shares and debts for longer than 14 days (until August 2017 – 30 days). This list includes the largest banks and financial companies of the Russian Federation (as well as their subsidiaries), including Sberbank, VTB, VEB, Rosagrobank, Gazprombank, Yandex.Money.
  • A ban on transactions with newly issued debts over 60 days (previously - 90 days). The ban affects some of Russia's largest energy companies - Rosneft, Gazpromneft, Transneft and Novatek.
  • Prohibition on transactions with new debts over 30 days. This group consists mainly of companies from the defense and high-tech sectors.

All other transactions with companies from these lists are permitted.

Restrictions on technology transfer to Russian energy companies.

Several executive authorities in the United States are involved in detailed regulation of this type of restrictions.

The US Treasury has issued a directive prohibiting Americans from selling equipment, providing services, or transferring technology that would be used for exploration and production of oil in deep water (more than 500 feet, that is, about 150 meters), shelf arctic(located inside the Arctic Circle) and shale deposits in Russia and adjacent maritime territories by the largest Russian companies.

We are talking only about oil production, since Russia’s European partners persuaded the United States not to touch gas. The provision of financial services - such as lending and insurance - is not prohibited.

The list of companies that are prohibited from transferring such equipment is broader than the list that imposes a limit on lending beyond 60 days. This includes Gazprom, Rosneft, LUKOIL, Surgutneftegaz and other oil companies, but does not include, for example, the pure gas Novatek.

At first, the ban on the transfer of equipment and technology applied not only to these organizations, but also to companies in which they had more than 50% participation. But in August 2017, this restriction was tightened and now we are talking not only about the “subsidiaries” of Russian companies, but also about companies and projects in which they have more than 33% participation. In addition, if previously we were talking only about projects in Russia (and adjacent to it), now sanctions apply to operations throughout the world.

Another department, the US Department of Commerce, is responsible for issuing licenses for the export of products that are subject to restrictions, including due to imposed sanctions.

Obtaining an export license is required for the transfer of a number of technologies and equipment that may be used, directly or indirectly, for the exploration or production of oil or gas in deepwater (below 500 feet), Arctic offshore or shale fields in Russia, and in cases where it is not possible determine exactly whether the equipment will be used in such fields.

Thus, we're talking about not only about oil production, but also about gas. Licenses are required for the supply of equipment and technologies to any company in Russia, and not just those included in the list of sanctions.

When applying for an export license, use presumption of refusal in cases where the equipment can be used in the mentioned fields for oil production.

Specific restricted equipment includes, but is not limited to: drilling rigs, horizontal drilling equipment, drilling and completion equipment, subsea processing equipment, offshore equipment likely to be used in the Arctic, motors and equipment for wells and cables, drill pipes and casing pipes, hydraulic fracturing software, pumps high pressure, seismic equipment, remote controlled devices, compressors, expanders, valves, risers.

US Export Control is attempting to extend its regulations beyond the US. Thus, the specified restrictions should include the transfer to Russia of equipment that contains at least a 25% share of American products, from any country and by any person.

By the way, restrictions on the export of equipment to Russia that could be used for military purposes, namely the requirement to obtain an export license, existed before the Crimean crisis, so no separate sanctions were adopted regarding this type of product.

WHAT NEW PROVISIONS WERE INCLUDED IN THE RECENTLY PASSED AMERICAN LAW?

The new US law, which Trump so reluctantly signed, includes several important provisions affecting the interests of the Russian Federation.

Firstly, the procedure for reviewing sanctions has changed significantly.

Previously, Congress passed only a “framework law” that gave the president the power to independently impose and lift sanctions. Specific restrictions and lists of affected persons were adopted routinely by presidential decrees and acts of certain ministries. This is how Obama adopted sanctions. Now congressmen have incorporated into the new act all the sanctions imposed by Obama's decrees, thus giving them the force of law.

The new law also stipulates that the removal of existing sanctions, changes to the list of affected persons, and the granting of critical exceptions (so-called “licenses”) must be considered in both houses of Congress. If Congress does not agree with the lifting or modification of sanctions, it will make an appropriate decision about this - in the form of a law. This makeshift legislation can be vetoed by the President, but in theory this veto can be overridden by Congress, as usual, with a two-thirds majority.

These new rules greatly limit the rights of the president and significantly delay the prospect of lifting sanctions.

Thus, in order to remove any repentant Zaldostanov from the list of persons under sanctions now, this decision will have to be considered in the form of a bill in Congress committees, passed through both chambers, and, if necessary, vetoed. Given the hostility of Congress, the only hope for the informal motorcyclist will be that Congress will not have time to override the veto within a certain maximum period.

Trump did not want to sign this law, but was forced to do so, because he understood that his veto would be easily overcome - both Democrats and Republicans unanimously voted for the bill, with only a few votes against.

Secondly, the new law tightened the regime of already existing sectoral sanctions against the Russian Federation. As we have already mentioned, the maximum period of permitted debt obligations has been reduced. The new deadlines were 14 days for banks under sanctions (previously 30 days) and 60 days for energy companies (previously 60 days).

In addition, as already indicated, the law tightens restrictions on Russian oil projects in deepwater, offshore Arctic and shale fields, establishing a maximum participation threshold Russian organizations 33% in projects to which Americans can sell equipment and technology.

Third, by law, Congress gives the President the power—and in some cases the obligation—to enact various kinds new sanctions against certain individuals.

Thus, the President may impose sanctions, in coordination with United States allies, on any person who sells or engages in more than $1 million worth of equipment, technology, and services related to the construction, modernization, or support of Russian energy export pipelines. investments.

It was this point that aroused the indignation of Europeans, who saw here, not without reason, an attempt to ban the construction of new pipelines from Russia. In order to reassure them, the Americans inserted language about “coordination with allies” into the final law.

This provision is actually extraterritorial - restrictions are imposed not only on American persons, but in general on any individual and legal entity in the world.

But the key word here is “may.” It seems unlikely that, under current conditions, the US President would impose sanctions on Europeans, for example, for participating in Nord Stream 2. However, selective application of such sanctions is likely.

According to the same law, the US President is obliged to impose sanctions on:

  • those who knowingly engage in “actions that undermine cybersecurity against any person, including a democratic institution or government, on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation”;
  • responsible for "ordering, supervising, or otherwise directing the commission of serious human rights violations in any territory forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by the Government of the Russian Federation."
  • any persons who carry out “significant transactions” with persons who are part of, or acting on behalf of and in the interests of, “the defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation,” including the GRU of the General Staff and the FSB. To prevent Trump from evading this provision, he was ordered to issue rules within 60 days on how to identify such individuals.

This is one of the strangest points of the entire law. Theoretically, any buyers of Russian weapons on the international stage could be subject to sanctions.

  • any person who makes an investment in excess of $10 million (or assists in making that investment) if that investment would result in the Russian Federation being able to privatize state property in a manner that would unfairly enrich any officials Russian Federation or their friends and relatives.
  • foreign individuals who contributed to the acquisition of various types of weapons by the Syrian government.

All these sanctions may be subject to any individual or legal entity in the world, no matter where they live, and no matter what citizenship and jurisdiction they have.

It is difficult to say how aggressively President Trump will impose these sanctions. In the “signing statement,” a note accompanying the signing of the law, he stated that he did not agree with many of the provisions of the law (including some of these points), but would sign it in the interests of “the unity of the nation.”

There have been cases in US history when presidents signed legislation with some minor part of which they disagreed, which they indicated in their “signing statement.” This statement was then used to try to avoid implementation of these contradictory provisions of the signed law.

Fourthly, the law contains a declaration of support for the energy industry of Ukraine, including a statement that it is US policy to “continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, given its destructive impact on the energy security of Europe, the development of the gas market in Central and Eastern Europe and energy reforms in Ukraine.”

The law also cynically states that "the United States government must prioritize the export of the energy resources of the United States in order to create American jobs, assist the allies and partners of the United States, and strengthen the foreign policy of the United States."

This latest declaration caused a lot of criticism from Europeans, who saw in this entire law only the desire of the United States to strengthen its position in the European energy market.

It is possible, however, that this legal useless provision in itself was introduced only to jab Trump in a Jesuitical way - if he had not signed the law, he would have been reproached for being against creating jobs in America, which was one of the main points of his election program.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE SANCTIONS REGIME?

The sanctions regime was adopted by almost all countries that can be conventionally called the “white world”. This is the USA and Canada, all countries geographical Europe, with the exception of Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and, of course, Belarus. In addition, laws on sanctions against the Russian Federation were adopted by Japan, Georgia, Australia, New Zealand and some small Caribbean states.

The EU sanctions are almost identical to the US sanctions in force before the August 2017 law. Only the specific list of persons under sanctions is somewhat different. However, the Europeans' participation in the latest round of sanctions is still in question. Judging by the protests coming from EU representatives, it is unlikely that this bloc will automatically join the new restrictions, at least certainly not all of them.

And yet, despite the fact that the latest sanctions adopted by the Americans were received ambiguously, it is unlikely that the “sanctions coalition” will collapse in the near future.

WHO MUST COMPLY WITH THESE SANCTIONS? SHOULD COUNTRIES NOT PARTICIPATING IN THE SANCTIONS REGIME COMPLY WITH IT?

American law establishes that the restriction regime applies to transactions of “US persons and in the United States.” “U.S. persons” are U.S. citizens, permanent residents, U.S. companies (including branches of foreign companies), and all persons located in its territory.

From a formal point of view, this formulation does not imply an attempt to extend American regulation extraterritorially. All persons subject to sanctions are the object, and not the subject, of American law. Americans, in theory, can simply include foreigners who violate sanctions on the sanctions list, but cannot punish them specifically for violating the sanctions regime.

The difference here is big - if you get on the sanctions list, you simply lose the opportunity to travel to America and do business with Americans; If they admit that you are violating the sanctions regime, then you can be subject to criminal punishment in the United States and go to prison for 20 years.

However, recently a certain purely legally extraterritorial element has also appeared in the practice of law enforcement of sanctions. Any non-cash payments in US dollars between persons, even those not located in the United States, are considered transactions also carried out in the United States, since money transfers usually pass through correspondent accounts of American banks.

Thus, a Chinese, and even a Russian, who paid something, or received something in non-cash dollars from a company under sanctions, could also theoretically be considered a sanctions violator - and be detained somewhere in Thailand and sent to America , to go to prison there for 20 years.

EU legislation, on the contrary, very clearly defines the persons who must comply with sanctions against the Russian Federation, namely:

  • citizens of EU member states,
  • organizations established under the laws of EU member states,
  • organizations operating wholly or partly in the EU,
  • any person located in the EU,
  • any persons on the territory of any overflight aircraft or vessel under the jurisdiction of EU Member States.

WHY ARE RUSSIA'S PARTNERS SO AFRAID OF VIOLATING THESE SANCTIONS? CAN THESE SANCTIONS BE BYPASSED?

Companies leading international activities, are very afraid of punishment for violating sanctions, especially from the United States. If they conduct any activity in the United States, the Americans may consider them subject to their laws and, accordingly, punish them for this violation.

As we have already indicated, even if a company has never carried out any business in the United States, and not a single employee has ever set foot there, if it uses American dollars in its calculations, it can be recognized that it is also operating in the United States , and therefore, is obliged to comply with the sanctions regime.

In 2015, US authorities fined the largest French bank BNP-Paribas a staggering $9 billion (not a typo, just billions) for allegedly violating US sanctions on Iran. Although France does not participate in the Iran sanctions regime and the bank's Iranian operations were not located in the United States, the basis for the fine was that the bank settled these transactions through dollar correspondent accounts located in the United States.

Despite the protests of the French government, the fine was imposed, and BNP-Paribas paid it, since the alternative would have been a ban on the bank using dollars in payments, that is, the actual closure of the bank.

Frankly speaking, recently the US government has been behaving somewhat like a gangster, and it is taking money not only from foreign corporations, but also from native American companies- Thus, $13 billion was taken from J.P. Morgan Bank in the form of a fine for alleged violations in mortgage lending, and $17 billion was taken from Bank of America.

In the United States, not only the president can impose fines, but also very numerous agencies and departments, federal and state, whose leaders thus - “by punishing evil corporations” - increase their political capital. Recently, there has been an unprecedented strengthening of the role of the state in the United States, despite the fact that all legal institutions, decentralization and the number of scoundrels in power remain unchanged there since Marktven’s times, when the role of the state was very weak and it could not harm anyone much.

Against this background, it would be the simplest and most honorable thing to fine a company like Siemens several billion dollars under the authority of some New York state comptroller for violating the sanctions regime. It is not surprising that international companies are afraid of somehow causing irritation or the attention of American “competent authorities.”

As we have already said, in addition to fines, there is also a very severe criminal punishment for violation of the sanctions regime for an individual (including officials corporations). This includes a fine of up to $1 million and up to 20 years in prison.

Given all this, it is not surprising that foreign corporations try to avoid violating the sanctions regime and not getting involved in sanctions evasion schemes.

WHAT IMPACT DO THE SANCTIONS HAVE ON THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY, INCLUDING THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR?

There is no doubt that in recent years The Russian economy is experiencing significant difficulties. However, it is difficult to determine how large the contribution of international sanctions is to this.

In general, the press and economists are of the opinion that the main reason for the difficulties in the Russian economy was not international sanctions, but the fall in oil prices. In 2016, for example, oil and gas exports from Russia amounted to $151 billion, up from $349 billion in 2013.

In addition, there are structural problems of the Russian economy: excessive statization, ineffective government institutions and regulation, corruption, which caused the slowdown in economic growth in Russia even before the Crimean crisis.

Still, the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy cannot be underestimated.

The most serious damage is caused by restrictions on lending to large Russian banks and companies from abroad. The first blow was the need to repay large loans to foreign creditors without the opportunity to refinance. In total, in 2014-2016, the difference between repaid and attracted loans from Russian companies amounted to about $170 billion. Although the Russians, in general, have so far managed to extricate themselves, such a monetary failure became one of the reasons for the devaluation of the ruble.

The long-term consequences of restricting foreign lending are even more serious. Most large investments, including in the real sector of the economy, for example, the opening of new industries, are carried out through bank loans, including syndicated ones, with participants from many countries. Inside the Russian Federation there is now little capital for investment (in 2016, the assets of the banking system decreased for the first time in the history of the Russian Federation), Europe, the USA and Japan, that is, 95% of the world financial market, are closed to Russian borrowers, and the Chinese are not yet keen to invest much in Russia.

Since only the largest banks were sanctioned - such as Sberbank, VTB, it is theoretically possible that Western financing will go through other banks that are not sanctioned. However, it is unlikely that this will become a powerful source of investment, not least because the Russian banking system is now increasingly consolidated.

Eat high probability, that without the resumption of lending from abroad, the resumption of high rates of economic growth in Russia will be difficult.

The energy industry was also directly affected. The sanctions had a particularly unpleasant impact on heavily indebted companies such as Rosneft. There were rumors that it was the actions of Rosneft that caused the collapse of the ruble exchange rate, since the company was forced to buy dollars for open market V huge quantities due to the inability to borrow money in dollars.

As for restrictions on the supply of equipment, they affect a rather narrow area: deep-sea drilling, production on the Arctic shelf and shale oil. Therefore, on a macroeconomic scale, the impact of this ban is not very strong. However, for individual companies these sanctions, and especially those adopted in August 2017, are quite painful, as they limit their ability to develop some new projects.

Sanctions also have a negative psychological and moral impact. The situation when the country is under sanctions scares off most investors. If foreign companies already operating in Russia can still decide to develop and invest new money, then companies that have never operated in Russia are unlikely to open their enterprises and invest money in the country.

Sometimes the opinion is expressed that sanctions are an incentive for the development of their own industry. But this statement is more than controversial.

A certain “import substitution” is actually happening now. But it makes no sense to be overly happy and praise the sanctions for this.

Firstly, such import substitution has as its main reason the sharp devaluation of the ruble, as a result of which the import of various types of products from abroad, including equipment, has greatly decreased. Although the ban on long-term lending to large Russian companies was also one of the reasons for the devaluation, most likely the ruble exchange rate would have dropped significantly even without these measures, but simply as a result of the collapse in oil prices.

Secondly, even if the sanctions somehow caused, through devaluation, a decrease in imports and some increase in demand for domestic products, the price of this improvement is very high - the possibility of lending is closed for enterprises. Due to the instability of the ruble, lending interest rates are very high. Until now, enterprises receive loans at 15-20% per annum, and this despite the fact that the official inflation rate is, according to the latest data, about 4%. This rate almost certainly exceeds average rate arrived throughout the engineering industry. Where it makes sense to lend in dollars, for example in oil and gas production, lending from abroad is in many cases closed, as a result of which a significant number of large projects cannot start.

And thirdly, all import substitution occurs, as it is sad to admit, at a very low technological level.

In fact, many oil companies are now abandoning the expensive services of companies such as Schlumberger or Halliburton, and are again starting to call “Uncle Vasya” to solve their problems. But truly high-tech industries are developing extremely slowly due to serious structural problems in the Russian Federation.

In addition to the problems already mentioned (ineffective state, corruption, etc.) it is necessary to mention the most difficult question lack of technical personnel. Old engineering personnel are leaving, young ones are not being trained the right amount and quality. The system of secondary technical education has completely collapsed.

In such conditions, the task of building mass competitive high-tech production in Russia is extremely difficult.

WHEN WILL THE SANCTIONS BE REMOVED?

The lifting or easing of sanctions is currently extremely unlikely due to the international political situation, internal political struggles in the United States and the legal complexity of this process.

As for EU sanctions, legally removing them is quite simple. Unlike the US, where sanctions are regulated by a whole bunch of documents, EU sanctions were adopted in one document. European sanctions were first adopted in July 2014 for a period of six months, then they were repeatedly extended every 6 months - in last time June 28, 2017.

To extend sanctions, all EU member states must vote unanimously each time. The specific list of persons subject to sanctions is routinely supplemented by the EU executive bodies.

Thus, it is enough for at least one country to vote against it, and the sanctions will not be extended and will cease. It is unlikely that any country would do this against everyone else. However, if the main EU members decide to end sanctions, no country from the “belt of sufferers” such as Poland or Lithuania will be able to prevent this. In this case, the principle of unanimity in the EU works to Russia's advantage.

Formally, EU sanctions are being extended due to Russia’s failure to comply with the Minsk agreements. Let us recall that the Minsk agreements of February 15, 2015 (Minsk-2), adopted during a meeting of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, are now not being implemented by either Russia or Ukraine. The agreements include provisions that are currently difficult to implement, such as the transfer to the Ukrainian government of control over the state border between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in the Donbass region. These agreements impose an obligation on Ukraine, among other things, to change the constitution and grant special status to parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which the Ukrainians are also in no hurry to do.

It is difficult to say whether the theoretical implementation of these agreements by Russia will entail the lifting of sanctions by the EU. The act on sanctions itself states that they are imposed, among other things, due to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. So, Russia’s fulfillment of its part of the Minsk agreements does not guarantee the lifting of EU sanctions. However, a hypothetical end to the “annexation” of Crimea cannot guarantee anything either.

However, the lifting of European sanctions without lifting American sanctions, which have a certain extraterritoriality, will not greatly improve the situation of the Russian Federation. American sanctions will be much more difficult to lift.

Firstly, at present there are no prerequisites for improving relations between the Russian Federation and the United States. Trade between the Russian Federation and the United States has always been at a fairly low level, and the Americans are not particularly interested in improving relations with the Russian Federation. It is much more profitable to continue to use it as a bogeyman for the sake of “national unity.”

Secondly, lifting sanctions will require the adoption of appropriate legislation, which will have to pass through both houses of Congress. Given the constant squabbles, intrigues and internal party struggles in this body, it will be difficult to achieve this.

Thirdly, as long as the international situation remains tense and the Ukrainian and Crimean issues are unresolved from an international legal point of view, there is no pretext for lifting sanctions. A legal solution to this issue may not occur during the lifetime of most readers of this article. Let us remember that, for example, the problem of Northern Cyprus has not been resolved since 1974, and is unlikely to be resolved in the near future.

Sanctions can be lifted soon only if there is a radical change in the international political situation, for example, if some common strong enemy emerges. Unless such an unlikely event occurs, it could be decades before sanctions are lifted.

Ruslan Khaliullin

In 2018, the Russian economy will continue to feel the brunt of sanctions, the main initiator of which will again be the United States. Some more items have been added to the list of prohibitive measures against Russia, which began to take effect on January 29. And yet, talk about the advisability of their introduction continues to subside. Even the US Treasury Department has stated that similar actions may have a negative impact not only on the Russian, but also on the American situation. So what does the package of documents released by Capitol lawmakers say?

This time, the elected representatives of the people, sitting in Washington, decided to go through the elite of the Russian Federation. If previously restrictions affected them only indirectly, mostly affecting the ordinary population (for example, the suspension of export-import relations led to a natural increase in food prices, etc.), now the country's leading figures will have to experience some hardships on themselves.

This is precisely what the “Kremlin report” seems to hint at - a recently published list of 210 individuals (114 well-known officials and heads of state corporations and 96 oligarchs, whose fortune is estimated at $1 billion or more). In addition to many specific deputies, ministers, speakers, heads of special services, directors large companies and representatives of the presidential administration, such high-ranking people as:

  • Dmitry Peskov (press secretary of V.V. Putin);
  • Dmitry Medvedev (Chairman of the Government);
  • Sergei Shoigu (Army General and Head of the Ministry of Defense);
  • Igor Sechin (executive director of the oil and gas organization Rosneft);
  • German Gref (Head of Sberbank) and many others.

Among businessmen, Americans paid close attention to Roman Abramovich (entrepreneur, billionaire and former governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug), Alisher Usmanov (founder of USM Holdings and a man whose financial savings were estimated by Bloomberg at $20 billion), Boris Rotenberg (member of the board of directors of SMP Bank and vice-president of the Judo Federation in the country) and others.

Although the US Treasury Department has emphasized that these individuals will not be subject to any additional prohibitions beyond those that have already been adopted previously, some economic and political experts believe just the opposite. Representatives of the government agency assured the media and the public that such a list was created and published “solely at the request of the CAATSA law,” which means it does not allegedly indicate that the authorities have information about the illegal activities of these people and does not call on American citizens to immediately refuse to conduct them partnership affairs. And yet it is obvious that the document was not born by chance. It is quite possible that in the future the foreign property of members on the “black list” will begin to be seized, accounts will be frozen, entry will be prohibited, etc.

New sanctions 4 strikes on Russia

March 2, 2018 Donald Trump signed a decree extending sanctions against the Russian Federation, imposed in 2014, for another year. In addition to the restrictions that took place last year, new sanctions can be expected in 2018. The United States plans to influence in 4 directions:

  • Introduction of sanctions against citizens purchasing Russian sovereign debt. Such a step could not only bring serious problems for the Russians themselves, but also scare off foreign investors or lead to a significant outflow of foreign capital.
  • New sanctions against oligarchs, which will now affect not only the influential politicians themselves and their capital, but will also affect people close to those on the list, namely: children and relatives, company employees.
  • Imposing sanctions on individuals who are held responsible for human rights violations.
  • Sanctions against the defense sector, which may affect companies involved in the development of modern technologies and the production of military goods.

Thus, we can expect that the list of Russians who will be affected by Western sanctions will expand significantly, and the oligarchs will not only lose the opportunity to store their assets outside the country and relax at their favorite resorts, but also will not be able to educate their children in highly ranked universities.

Collaboration: Keep it to a Minimum

If we talk about international partnerships between companies, then here the situation takes on more distinct and definite forms. The list of US sanctions against Russia in 2018 provides for an even more tangible and significant reduction in economic relations in the intelligence and defense spheres. Also from now on:

  • Americans will be prohibited from providing new technologies, projects, ideas and developments to those firms that are under restrictions. All organizations that provide assistance or financial support to companies and people who are already subject to prohibitions will be subject to a strict regulatory mechanism.
  • Economic coercive measures will be able to be imposed on enterprises owned by Russia, but based outside its territories, and specializing, in particular, in transport, metallurgy, railway construction and mining, i.e. in large industrial sectors.
  • If the President of America receives information from the Treasury Department regarding the involvement of individuals in corrupt and fraudulent schemes, he will be able to impose individual sanctions against them.

  • Neither the President of the States, nor especially the President of the Russian Federation, will have the right to unilaterally lift any restrictions. Acting as a kind of world gendarme, the Congress reserves this privilege exclusively for itself. Assistance in decision-making should be provided by the Ministry of Finance and Commerce in cooperation with the State Department.
  • It will not be possible to invest more than $10 million in assets of the Russian Federation. Otherwise, this will be considered as a desire to illegally enrich the Government of the country.
  • Any entities that are caught participating in malicious cyber attacks, sponsoring hacking or espionage in the interests of Russia will be subject to sanctions, and these can be citizens of the Russian Federation, and in principle any foreigners, and residents of the United States themselves.

Mutual expulsions of diplomats (April 2018)

UK and Russia

Following the scandal surrounding the poisoning of former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, 23 Russian diplomats were expelled from the UK. In response to this step, the Russian government decided to introduce symmetrical sanctions.

USA and Russia

In March 2018, the Russian Consulate General in Seattle was closed and 60 Russian diplomats were expelled from the United States. Moreover, the list included not only consulate employees, but also representatives of the Russian Federation to the UN. Official reason– the difficult situation surrounding the poisoning in Salisbury.

Commenting on the situation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that retaliatory measures would be taken as soon as possible. as soon as possible. Already in March, the government revoked the work permit of the St. Petersburg US Consulate General and expelled 60 American diplomats from Russia, giving them until 04/05/18 to leave the territory of the Russian Federation. The official reason is activities incompatible with the status of a diplomat.

Experts say that a difficult period is coming in relations with the United States and Europe, and the blame for such an unfavorable development of events lies on the American side.

Personal sanctions (April 2018 list)

The West began to turn the promised threats into reality. The first step was the announcement of a new (additional) list of individuals and companies against which sanctions were imposed.

In 2018, the following were under attack:

  • 14 Russian companies;
  • 24 Russians, of which 8 oligarchs and 16 officials;
  • 2 Mexican entrepreneurs doing business in the Russian Federation.

Of course, personal sanctions against politicians and oligarchs are no longer news. One could even say that they are in some way formal, because the assets of these people have long been transferred to Russian banks. More worrying is the fact that the list included large Russian companies, including the Kuban agricultural holding and the Rusal company owned by Oleg Deripaska.

For the largest domestic grain exporter and aluminum producer, the imposed sanctions are more than a serious test, because according to the new document signed by Trump, problems are guaranteed not only for the enterprises themselves, but also for all those who decide to purchase the products they sell.

Also on the list of companies were Rosoboronexport, which suggests the West’s desire to oust the Russian Federation from the global arms market.

Thus, the list of sanctions in 2018 will be directed not so much against the Russian Federation itself, but against its potential external partners who could still remain after the release of all previous packages.

We invite you to familiarize yourself with full list US sanctions against Russia (document in English):

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that the bans that have applied to America's political opponent until now have been more than successful, so there is no particular need to introduce tough measures. According to the diplomat, the previous provisions adopted within the framework of the laws “On Supporting Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy and Economic Stability in Ukraine”, “On Supporting the Freedom of Ukraine” and “On Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions” Act”, CAATSA), justify themselves “excellently”. Thus, the Russian military-industrial complex has already experienced their brunt after several foreign governments refused to purchase defense technologies totaling several billion dollars.

Is everything so rosy for the Americans themselves?

However, along with all of the above, the US Department of the Treasury could not fail to notice one objective fact - if strong pressure on Russia continues, this could lead not only to the destabilization of its economy and an increase in the burden on the domestic banking sector, but also to destructive processes in the States themselves.

This state of affairs follows from the role of the Russian Federation on the world political and economic arena and the number of assets it owns - if these parameters are not taken into account and the consequences are not correctly calculated, the result will be extremely large-scale and even catastrophic. Negative effects can go far beyond Russia and spread to the leaders themselves - European and American businesses and their markets, companies and investors.

By the way, speaking of Europe, the United States also needs to enlist its support in order to fully implement the policy in the chosen direction. Without European partners, the influence of the United States will no longer be as significant. So, if we compare countries in terms of ownership of Russian treasury securities, it turns out that in the third quarter of 2017, America accounted for only $200 million versus 400 million for Great Britain, 600 million for Italy and 700 million for France.

Even though Washington is not yet planning to launch an independent attack on the Russian national debt and attempt to put pressure on the ruble exchange rate, discussions about various coercive measures continue to be quite active. What will come of this, and how Moscow will react to it, time will tell.

Video about the Kremlin report:

Volatility in the markets “both with the next wave of US sanctions rhetoric against Russia and with the unstable situation in emerging markets.” He assured that the economy has become more stable in recent years, and the government and the Central Bank “have all the necessary tools to ensure financial stability.”

Why did the fall stop?

The dynamics of exchange rates have stabilized, as “the first emotions have subsided, the main outflow of non-residents from OFZs has ended, and Brent oil has settled at just above $72 per barrel,” says BCS Premier investment strategist Alexander Bakhtin. The pressure on the ruble “should gradually subside,” he predicts: “It is possible that by the end of the week the dollar exchange rate may adjust downward and reach 63-64.5 rubles.”

Stabilization of the exchange rate at about 66 rubles. is not surprising, since the new sanctions look less painful than those of Senators Menendez and Graham, says Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank. “We see the trading range for the coming week at the levels of 64.25-67.50 rubles. for a dollar,” she said in the review.

Yesterday, the ruble “overreacted” to the bill of American senators, says Nordea Bank economist Tatyana Evdokimova. She emphasizes that Senator Graham, the initiator of the bill to strengthen anti-Russian sanctions, introduced 13 bills in 2017, of which only one became law.

What are the new sanctions?

The State Department announced on August 8 that the US administration had concluded that Russia was involved in the use of a toxic chemical agent in the assassination attempt on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in March of this year. In accordance with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, the US President is obliged to impose sanctions against a country that, according to the US government, has used chemical weapons prohibited by international conventions.

The law provides for two rounds of such sanctions, and the first will come into force on August 22. An additional round of sanctions could be imposed in 90 days if Russia does not meet certain conditions (its government must provide guarantees against the future use of chemical or biological weapons and must be willing to allow international inspectors into its facilities).

Russia became only the third country against which American sanctions have been applied under this law in 27 years. The first was Syria in 2013, the second was North Korea in 2018 (the US government concluded that North Korea was involved in the assassination of the North Korean leader's half-brother in Malaysia in 2017 using the nerve agent VX).

The Trump administration's application of the anti-chemical weapons law to Russia is significant politically, but the economic consequences of these sanctions are likely to be purely symbolic. The mandatory set of sanctions, which will go into effect on August 22, includes cutting off foreign aid to Russia from the United States, cutting off arms supplies and financing for weapons purchases, denying American government loans and banning the export to Russia of goods and technologies that are “nationally sensitive.” Security" USA.

The export of American weapons to Russia is already prohibited, and the United States does not provide government loans to Russia (on the contrary, until recently Russia was). There could be some losses in bilateral trade, with "several hundred million dollars" worth of shipments (per year) potentially affected, a State Department official told a briefing. But the US government has already provided several exceptions that are allowed by the 1991 law, and therefore the restrictions will be much more lenient.


What exceptions did the State Department promise?

Firstly, the United States will continue to provide “foreign assistance to Russia and its people” (including humanitarian assistance and assistance in the development of human capital), a State Department representative indicated. Secondly, sanctions prohibiting the export of sensitive goods will not affect space cooperation between Russia and the United States. In addition, goods and technologies necessary for the safety of commercial passenger aviation will be exempt from the new sanctions. Finally, licenses for the export of sensitive products from the United States will continue to be issued in individual cases(case-by-case) if the end user is a “purely commercial consumer” for the purpose of purely civilian use.

Currently, supplies to Russia of American goods and technologies that are sensitive from the point of view of national security (this is a large list, including, for example, aeroderivative gas turbines, electronic devices and components, integrated circuits, measuring and calibration equipment, various materials, etc.), are possible only with an export license from the US Department of Commerce. These licenses are already issued with difficulty. Now, as a State Department representative said at a briefing, such licenses will be automatically denied if the final recipient of sensitive products is an organization associated with Russian state. Such consumers in Russia could potentially lose “hundreds of millions of dollars” in future supplies, a State Department spokesman said.


In 2016 (the latest available statistics), the US Department of Commerce reviewed 502 applications for the export/re-export of goods to Russia totaling $4.3 billion, of which 208 applications were approved for a total of $2.7 billion.

What sanctions will Russia face in 90 days?

Additional sanctions against Russia could be imposed after three months if the Russian government does not agree to provide guarantees against the use of chemical weapons. Considering that Russia does not consider itself involved in the poisoning of the Skripals, a scenario in which Russia agrees to give the United States some kind of guarantees seems unlikely.

The second set of sanctions consists of six possible measures, from which the US President must choose at least three. Of these, two measures are symbolic in nature and have no practical significance for Russia (blocking international financial assistance and a ban on American banks providing loans to Russian authorities), one diplomatic (downgrading the status of bilateral diplomatic relations) and the other three - with potentially serious consequences for the economy and business, but they do not need to be applied (since three of the six measures are enough). This is a complete ban on the export of goods from the United States (except for food and agricultural products), a complete ban on imports into the United States and a ban on air traffic with the United States for state-owned air carriers (in the case of Russia, this is Aeroflot). But the United States does not intend to ban Aeroflot flights, no longer.

Aeroflot's quotes initially suffered greatly: on Thursday morning they collapsed from 111.9 to 102.8 rubles, and at their minimum (at 10:29 Moscow time) their price was 98.8 rubles. (minus 12%). Then the airline's quotes recovered from the fall - at 17:11 Moscow time, one share of Aeroflot costs only 0.6% cheaper than the day before.

Sanctions imposed under the Chemical Weapons Act last for at least a year and can be lifted by the President of the United States if the state against which they were imposed provides guarantees of further non-use of chemical weapons, allows in international inspectors, and also compensates for the damage suffered by victims of the use of chemical weapons.

Sanctions against Russia have become the trigger for many events in the economy and politics of Russia and other countries. What is the reason, essence and role of sanctions?

The history of the recent sanctions against Russia

After the memorable Maidan event of 2014 in Ukraine, the political situation around the world began to rapidly transform. Until this moment, there were no pronounced disagreements between the Russian Federation and other states, or they were of a completely familiar working nature. But in 2014, Maidan occurred, and Ukraine came under the control of a group of people who began to build an exclusively pro-Western policy for the country, which ultimately resulted in many troubles for Russia, including anti-Russian sanctions from the United States and many other countries.

Most people in Ukraine in 2014 were not ready to accept such changes. And quite expectedly, protest sentiments began to rise in many regions, especially the southeastern ones, as well as in Crimea. These initiatives were actively supported by pro-Russian politicians, especially deputies of the presidential Party of Regions.

Russian politicians also played a significant role in creating resistance to the Kyiv authorities, who began to actively promote the ideas of an uprising of the Russian population of Ukraine against the political regime established there.

First, this resulted in the separation of Crimea (see) with the holding of a referendum for independence and joining Russia, and then in a full-scale war in the South-East of the country (Donetsk and Lugansk regions), where after the same referendums joining the Russian Federation did not happen.

In 2014-2015, a full-scale war broke out in Donbass using all possible types weapons. The Ukrainian side stated that it was fighting separatism and the desire of Russian-backed forces to separate part of the country; Russia claimed that there was civil war and she has nothing to do with it.

The reaction of the world community was expressed in the form of sanctions

In the end world community led by the United States and Europe, they clearly took the side of Ukraine and began to introduce economic and political barriers and restrictions against the Russian Federation. In the eyes of the leaders of these countries, anti-Russian economic sanctions have become the main instrument of pressure on Russia so that it stops allegedly sponsoring separatism in Ukraine and providing military assistance to the Donbass militias.

Since the beginning of the introduction of bans, sanctions have only expanded and now, in 2018, they have already reached a very serious level. Since the beginning of 2018, more and more new restrictions have simply rained down on Russia, which should affect vital areas of the economy. The essence of anti-Russian sanctions is pressure on the country’s foreign policy pursued by the President of the Russian Federation.

Interesting fact : one of the episodes of the war that played against the Russian Federation was Malaysia Airlines, where about 300 peaceful European tourists died. According to one version, the civilian Boeing was shot down by accident during hostilities. This incident was also used as a reason for serious restrictive measures against the country. According to the governments of the United States and a number of EU countries, it was Russia that provided the rebels with the Buk air defense system, with which the plane was shot down.

US sanctions in effect in 2018

The first to introduce various bans and restrictions against the Russian Federation were the United States. Here I began to develop long lists that included various faces and companies involved in the situation in eastern Ukraine and allegedly financing and supporting separatism. Later, especially in 2018, the matter took on a much larger scale and problems began to be created even for people and companies that had nothing to do with the aggravation in Ukraine.

The initial reason for introducing anti-Russian sanctions by America was stated as follows: it is a condemnation of Russia’s actions in Crimea, its support for the separatist movement in the Southeast, as well as a significant incentive to stop the so-called Russian aggression. The Russian Federation has received clear complaints - it must comply international law and laws, act within the framework of the Budapest Memorandum, completely stop shaking the situation in Ukraine and move on to a constructive dialogue with it to resolve the current situation. Later, the requirements were added to the need to comply with the Minsk agreements, multiple ceasefires, etc.

When Donald Trump took office, anti-Russian sanctions increased significantly, although their reasons remained the same. A flurry of new restrictions followed in 2018. But now their emphasis has shifted significantly - the United States first saw that its previous sanctions actions had not had much success and decided to hit right in the heart - at the immediate circle of President V.V. Putin.

Restrictions against individuals and legal entities

Anti-Russian sanctions 2018 included restrictions against large quantity individuals (more than 200) and legal entities (several dozen) and their list is constantly growing. The tactics of the American side are now simple - to put pressure on the oligarchs and leading companies of the country in order to cause displeasure among the elite with the actions of Vladimir Putin and begin to put pressure on him in order to change the features of foreign policy.

The implementation of anti-Russian sanctions is strictly controlled by employees of the US Treasury, so no concessions or easing can be expected in the near future.

In the photo: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

Trump also took a clear position - the Russian Federation must change its behavior and stop supporting separatism, return Crimea to Ukraine and leave the South-East. Only after this will it be possible to talk about some kind of positive dialogue and rectification of the situation, as swissinfo.ch reports.

Russia's counter-sanctions in response to sanctions

Since the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions for Russia are quite painful, no one is going to leave the question of an adequate response unattended. Just the other day, the State Duma adopted a law providing for America. Their essence is as follows:

  • President Vladimir Putin may impose restrictions or bans on interaction with certain unfriendly countries or companies;
  • There may be restrictions on the export and import of raw materials and various products;
  • Many Western companies will now not be able to take part in the processes of privatization and government procurement.

After introducing another list of restrictions, along with which the ruble exchange rate weakened significantly, the United States assessed the effect of anti-Russian sanctions as very positive and effective.

Interesting fact: Among deputies, the option of banning the import of about 1,000 imported items is being seriously discussed medical supplies(except those that are irreplaceable!). Many people are wary of this decision and expect higher prices and shortages in pharmacies. We can only hope for domestic manufacturers and analogues from other friendly countries.

It is important to understand that the European Union is moving in the wake of the United States on this issue and is largely acting against its goals, ambitions and benefits. Any friction with the Russian Federation is fraught with serious consequences for European countries, increased prices for gas and oil products, a decrease in their own sales markets, etc.

Nevertheless, America’s influence here is so great that most EU countries also introduced a package of anti-Russian sanctions against the Russian Federation, also in connection with the Ukrainian events: the secession of Crimea and the war in Donbass.

European anti-Russian sanctions, a list of which is available even on Wikipedia, affect the majority of the country's elite, people involved in supporting the separatist movement in Crimea and the South-East, owners of large companies, politicians, military men, and businessmen.

Here are just some well-known individuals and enterprises affected by anti-Russian sanctions:

  • Sergey Naryshkin;
  • Valentina Matvienko;
  • Dmitry Rogozin;
  • Ramzan Kadyrov;
  • Dmitry Kiselev;
  • Vyacheslav Volodin and many others.

The list of companies included:

  • "Feodosia";
  • "Dobrolet";
  • "Almaz-Antey";
  • "Kerch Sea Trade Port";
  • Gazprom Neft;
  • Rosneft and others.

In total, the EU anti-Russian sanctions affected 150 individuals and 38 large companies. .

As for retaliatory measures, the main counter-sanction in the European Union was a ban on the import of a large list of food industry products. At the same time, a national import substitution program was announced, as a result of which domestic producers must make up for the deficit that arose with the ban on the import of goods. Such measures are aimed at supporting Russian manufacturer and gaining independence from Western products. In general, the program worked successfully and there was no food shortage in the country.

Recently, Trump and Merkel discussed anti-Russian sanctions and promised to continue to adhere to such a policy until the political goals they set are completed. Also, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has more than once expressed her opinion on anti-Russian sanctions, considering them harmful for a normal partnership, but necessary at the moment.

Interesting fact: The main reason for anti-Russian sanctions by the EU is, after all, US pressure, since our parties are vitally interested in interaction and normal relations.

In the photo: Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel

As the most affected party, Ukraine also considered it its duty to introduce a number of restrictions against Russian enterprises and many individuals. The specificity here is that for a given country, any new anti-Russian sanctions are most often a shot in the foot, since the post-Soviet economies are tightly interconnected and until recently were one.

It is difficult to find companies in the Russian Federation that would suffer too much from Ukrainian restrictions, but in Ukraine almost any large enterprise, serious production and even work scientific institutes were more focused on interaction with the Russian Federation. As a result, judging purely politically, restrictions have been introduced and everything appears to be happening according to the logic of events, but it is mainly Ukrainian enterprises and citizens of this country who suffer from this.

Trade turnover between states has dropped to a record level, and there is nowhere to put surplus Ukrainian products - Europe doesn’t need them, they have plenty of their own, local people don’t have the money to buy them. As a result, the domestic market and Ukrainian production only suffer and gradually degrade. Every Kiev bill on anti-Russian sanctions means anxiety and a suspended situation for hundreds of enterprises and millions of workers who already receive pittance salaries.

The impact of anti-Russian sanctions on Ukraine is very negative, however, the list of companies and individuals affected by them is simply huge.

In the photo: Petro Poroshenko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Russia's response to Ukrainian sanctions

Russia's retaliatory actions are not so aggressive, but they exist and have affected large number companies. As stated above, the overwhelming majority of Ukrainian prohibition measures themselves are shooting themselves in the foot, arm and whole body, so even if there was no answer, the Ukrainian economy is already rapidly degrading and losing even the semblance of a civilized country. Vivid confirmation of what has been said: the country is among the 5 poorest in the world, about 100,000 people come from here every month. If support for anti-Russian sanctions continues, then it is obvious that its results will be even more disastrous.

Responsibility for compliance with anti-Russian sanctions

Most recently, State Duma deputies adopted a law that provides . This law on anti-Russian sanctions stipulates that any individual or legal entity that refuses to perform its usual functions within the country for fear of falling under Western restrictions may be considered a saboteur and brought to criminal liability. These measures were proposed by deputies, not Putin, but it is obvious that anti-Russian sanctions in connection with him should be less painful and noticeable.

As for punishment, violation of the law is subject to arrest for 4 years or a fine of 600,000 rubles. But other variations are possible here. The law is still very “raw” and it is difficult to discuss it more specifically. Also, at the moment there are no precedents for its use.

As a conclusion, we note that the new US anti-Russian sanctions are a painful blow, but it will not go unanswered and the country’s authorities have responded at the legislative level. Anti-Russian sanctions today are primarily political and they must also be fought in the political arena.