Russia under Sanctions: Assessing the Damage, Scrutinising Adaptation and Evasion Cover Image

Russia under Sanctions: Assessing the Damage, Scrutinising Adaptation and Evasion
Russia under Sanctions: Assessing the Damage, Scrutinising Adaptation and Evasion

Author(s): Stanislav Secrieru
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Economic policy, International relations/trade, Developing nations, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Geopolitics
Published by: PISM Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych
Keywords: Russia; Sanctions; EU; economy under sanctions
Summary/Abstract: The sanctions are not about democracy promotion in Russia, rather they aim to give a chance for a deeper democracy to take root and thrive in Ukraine, in tune with the popular demands expressed in 2013-2014. The sanctions do not seek to weaken Russia per se. Their reversibility shows that the main goal is to help Ukrainian statehood survive in the context of Russia’s military aggression. As the West has ruled out direct use of lethal means to protect Ukraine, the sanctions came to represent an efficient, low-cost tool to shelter Ukraine and constrain Russia’s power. It was pivotal that the West responded as it did in 2014. Had it delayed, the Russian aggression, unopposed, would have threatened not only Ukraine’s existence but some of its neighbours as well. In this case, the West would have been forced to design a response anyway, although one ultimately riskier and costlier.

  • Page Count: 89
  • Publication Year: 2015
  • Language: English