Limited Game
EU and U.S. Sanctions against Russia
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The European Union and the United States responded to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine with sanctions against Russian companies and individuals close to President Vladimir Putin. The effectiveness of these measures cannot be assessed solely on the basis of their immediate consequences. The sanctions against individuals were initially relatively easy to mitigate, but these generated investment uncertainty and led to capital flight, a collapse in exchange rates, and accelerated inflation. The measures later taken against state-controlled banks and oil companies and the counter-sanctions adopted by Russia significantly reinforced these effects. Russia’s government is now openly trying to have the restrictions lifted. However, the economic costs of Kremlin policy are apparently not yet great enough to convince Moscow to change course.
(Osteuropa 9-10/2014, pp. 191–207)