How effective are sanctions against Russia?

No country in the world currently has as much sanctions as Russia does. Before the war there were 2,500 sanctions on this country, while more than 11,000 others have now been added. These sanctions have, among other things, imposed on the European Union, G7 countries, Australia and Switzerland. Sanctions have been put against individuals, business branches or country institutions, as said on the Casteum internet platform. Al.

More than a thousand foreign companies left Russia within a year. President Vladimir Putin a few days ago shouted: “All the best! If you lose our market, you will suffer great losses. But that is your decision. ” And then he added: “If someone believes everything here will collapse and fail no, nothing has been dropped or collapsed”.

Russian products, goods and services should become “a subject of our national pride”, Putin stressed, adding: “These goods and services should not be successful only in the domestic market, but of course also in the international markets”.

But it cannot be the complete withdrawal of Western companies from Russia. “The list of shame”, published by the economics professor at Yale University, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, lists which companies have left Russia and which have remained active in this country.

Number of foreign tourists has dropped by 96%

In the Russian capital, for example, Western sanctions are not immediately visible to tourists. Logos of many Western firms have been replaced by Russian signs that look similar.

The problem is tourism: The number of foreign visitors has dropped by 96 percent. Instead of five million tourists, only one year before the Corona virus last year, only 200,000 visitors have been visited by the official data of the Russian Tourist Association.

If you look at the ever-intensive list of EU sanctions, you can see that they include machines and vehicles, luxury goods and weapons, high technology, air and spatial transport equipment and the technology for oil exploration. Branches for providing services as auditing, IT sector, tax consultations and advice, as well as advertising are also taboo. European airspace is closed for Russian airlines and roads for most Russian and Belarusian cargo carriers. Russia's Central Bank and most commercial banks are cut off from international money flows.

Lack of Technology for Energy Sectors

Last summer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen set an example of the success of sanctions, which seemed strange to many: “The Russian Army takes chips from the washing machine or refrigerators and installs them on war equipment because there are no semi-references. ”

“Sanctions are functioning slowly, but are functioning,” says Russian expert Eric Wytte from the Dysseldorf Civil Institute for Gas, because there is a lack of technology due to sanctions. Russia is highly dependent on this” technology, Wytte says.

Another example is the automobile industry. Subsequents such as ABS or Ajrbag are no longer available. That means, for example, that Russia is lowering standards. Returning to the Euro2 rate, which was applied in Germany in the 1990s, is also being discussed. ”

A big minus in the state budget

Car production in Russia fell by almost 70 percent last year, the lowest level in history. Even sanctions against the oil industry, which have been tightened several times, seem to be functioning. In January, the Russian state budget had a deficit of 23 billion euros, so it was forced to begin selling gold reserves.

However, the Russian economy has proved to be stronger than expected at the start of sanctions. So how successful are sanctions?

Russian expert Wytte does not consider them very successful at the moment. “Sanctions have caused a significant loss of wealth in populations, while high class, oligarchs, the rich can still provide western products. They find ways to travel, unless they're on the blacklist, although there are many exceptions. ”

The Russian government seems unwilling to change course. “Putin currently does not stumble by sanctions,” says Wytte. From a Western point of view, sanctions “have not yet brought about the desired success” the end of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. / DW