It all depends on what sanctions are actually going to be invoked.
Yes, it will. Yet, not everyone.Will this affect regular people at all?
IMHO the heaviest effect would come if VISA (or MasterCard) would actually stop operating in Russia. It won't make people lose their money, but it might be a drag to retrieve it for a while. The decision to create our own payment system (and this idea is far from new) is already made, so the harder Obama tries, the closer we are to taking measures on reclaiming Russian plastic card market.
Most trade sanctions would not actually harm regular people - we're not so dependent on the western markets when it comes to everyday goods as we were 20 years ago. Moreover, Russian manufacturers will not have to compete with foreign companies. It will take much effort and much losses to cancel enough supplies to actually cause major changes. Most of the money lost by the western companies shall go to Asia and China might get even stronger.
It's kinda funny that those "sanctions" are declared not against Russia, but against Putin personally and his closest henchmen. And right now his "right hand men" are kinda proud that their efforts are recognized on such a level and ask for more.Has it affected any politicians (assume that would only bite them if they have assets abroad...)
Actually such sanctions could have a good effect earlier, but since when the Magnitskiy law (which manifests exactly the same sanctions for more than a year already) was enacted, we regularly witnessed runaways of various officials/politicians (with big bags of money). To be short, those who could suffer from it are either already left and have no influence or not intended to be the actual target.
The markets shall suffer losses because it's not easy to isolate the 5th largest world economy. Even VISA has 100 millions customers here. Refusing to have all this money just because Obama says so is a tough decision.What long term effects will the sanctions have...
Russia will meet new problems but also get new options, especially for mobilizing the domestic markets.
In the end we will witness the dawn of the real New World Order, finally shattering the Old World we had inherited since the WW II.
The political and economical chaos in Ukraine is much more dangerous problem for Russia than any sanctions. Actually the main success of the recent events is that Ukraine was stopped (surgically) from entering the Customs Union. If we manage to stop the ongoing civil conflicts and bring peace (taking at least part of Ukraine to our Customs Union would be the biggest luck) those sanctions shall mostly backfire rather than work.Will this change Russias stand on issues relating to Ukraine?