Thread: Sanctions on Russia: Facts and end-resultsd

It all depends on what sanctions are actually going to be invoked.

Will this affect regular people at all?

Yes, it will. Yet, not everyone.
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.

Has it affected any politicians (assume that would only bite them if they have assets abroad...)

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.
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.

What long term effects will the sanctions have...

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.
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.

Will this change Russias stand on issues relating to Ukraine?

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.

Cool thread since it's something I've read a lot about.

Will this affect regular people at all?

I don't know but since a lot of Russian people want Putin to invade Ukraine then it must not be having a huge effect.

Has it affected any politicians (assume that would only bite them if they have assets abroad...)

If it does then they don't seem to care. The Russian parliament wanted the West to sanction all of them and there's a popular saying in Russia right now: "Добавь себя в «чёрный список» США.". (Add yourself to the blacklist of the United States."
They have an online petition for that and it's viral.

What long term effects will the sanctions have...

Imo, the long term effects will strengthen Russia and the eastern Trade Union. But it will also be devastating to the US and EU economies since the 5th largest economy will exist almost entirely in the east. And I don't see the TPP competing with that.
President Putin has already signed an agreement with Belarus and Kazakhstan, signed an agreement with China to double Russia's gas and oil trade with them, and signed an agreement in North Korea to construct new pipelines. Russia probably has enough options to make the Western sanctions irrelevant to Russian prosperity.

Will this change Russias stand on issues relating to Ukraine?

Русские не сдаются. President Putin said at the meeting in Germany that the sanctions will have no effect on Russian policy. Russia's stands on the issues will never be changed by sanctions.

Sanctions are like NGO's. They are used like weapons to attack other countries and force them to change to Western standards. Only weak nations cave in but Russia is not weak.
Btw, I think it's illegal to interfere with satellite signals. So even if the West attacks RT, people will still be able to receive the signal with satellite dishes. We have 2 dishes and we get RT on TV, on our PC's, and on the radio. The radio signal is channeled through a separate transmitter.