Were sanctions against Russia effective?
14.01.2015, 00:00
14.01.2015, 00:00
14.01.2015, 00:00
Any assessment of the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia depends on what is considered to be their aim.
Any assessment of the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia depends on what is considered to be their aim.
If the aim of sanctions was to constrain Russia’s actions in Ukraine, they were effective, says Jarosław Ćwiek-Karpowicz of PISM. If not for the sanctions, Moscow would have been even more rapacious and aggressive in Ukraine. As it stands, Russia’s dire economic situation means it cannot afford to support the Donbas financially. All it can really do now is promote the region’s autonomy in order to prevent the situation in Ukraine from stabilising.
The sanctions were also successful in term of demonstrating to Russia and the world that the West can unite when it needs to. Vladimir Putin did not expect the European Union to come together and agree a set of sanctions in July 2014, and was very surprised when that happened. Since then, the official rhetoric in Russia has changed dramatically. While the narrative used to be that sanctions would not have any impact on the country, now all of Russia’s economic woes are blamed on them. Although – as Marek Menkiszak from the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) notes – much of Russia’s current inflation is in fact caused by its own embargoes.
However, Ivan Rassokhin of the Centre for Polish-Russian Business Cooperation argues that sanctions have hit the Russian people much more than the Russian elites, and in that sense they have not been successful. But not everyone agrees. Some point to Putin’s counter-crisis strategy, which is to rely on the private sector (read: oligarchs) to foot the bill, as a sign that the elites are already feeling and will continue to feel the pinch of sanctions.
The debate: Sanctions and Russia was held at PISM on 14 January 2015 at PISM, to promote the publication of the report of the same name. It was moderated by TVP Moscow correspondent Arleta Bojke.
By Maya Rostowska, Piotr Kościński
Photos by Jadwiga Winiarska
Media coverage:
If the aim of sanctions was to constrain Russia’s actions in Ukraine, they were effective, says Jarosław Ćwiek-Karpowicz of PISM. If not for the sanctions, Moscow would have been even more rapacious and aggressive in Ukraine. As it stands, Russia’s dire economic situation means it cannot afford to support the Donbas financially. All it can really do now is promote the region’s autonomy in order to prevent the situation in Ukraine from stabilising.
The sanctions were also successful in term of demonstrating to Russia and the world that the West can unite when it needs to. Vladimir Putin did not expect the European Union to come together and agree a set of sanctions in July 2014, and was very surprised when that happened. Since then, the official rhetoric in Russia has changed dramatically. While the narrative used to be that sanctions would not have any impact on the country, now all of Russia’s economic woes are blamed on them. Although – as Marek Menkiszak from the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) notes – much of Russia’s current inflation is in fact caused by its own embargoes.
However, Ivan Rassokhin of the Centre for Polish-Russian Business Cooperation argues that sanctions have hit the Russian people much more than the Russian elites, and in that sense they have not been successful. But not everyone agrees. Some point to Putin’s counter-crisis strategy, which is to rely on the private sector (read: oligarchs) to foot the bill, as a sign that the elites are already feeling and will continue to feel the pinch of sanctions.
The debate: Sanctions and Russia was held at PISM on 14 January 2015 at PISM, to promote the publication of the report of the same name. It was moderated by TVP Moscow correspondent Arleta Bojke.
By Maya Rostowska, Piotr Kościński
Photos by Jadwiga Winiarska
Media coverage: