Full list of all sanctions against Russia

For more than two months now, anti-Russian hysteria has been going on in the West, aimed at fooling the townsfolk and creating the image of an external enemy from Russia. We have prepared especially for you full list sanctions imposed by a number of states, from which it is easy to conclude that, in fact, a serious aggravation of relations is not beneficial to anyone, and militant rhetoric is just words for PR politicians...

In response to Russia's actions in Crimea, the European Union, the United States, Canada and a number of other countries announced the imposition of sanctions. Measures include asset freezes and visa restrictions for designated individuals, as well as prohibiting companies from countries that have imposed sanctions from doing business with designated individuals and entities.

Current sanctions against Russia:

Elena Mizulina was banned from entering the country and more than 10 sanctions

Stopped the process of creating a free trade zone with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and 3 more sanctions

Stopped broadcasting the Rossiya TV channel due to “biased coverage of the situation in Ukraine” and 1 more sanction

Expelled all Russian servicemen and 7 more sanctions from its territory

Limited the period of stay for Russian citizens to a limit of 90 days and 12 more sanctions

Vladimir Putin:

“The deep values ​​of Russians and Europeans are the same. Yes, we are different, but we have the same interests, and I have said more than once that we need to create a single space. And if we do not build a united Europe and engage in separatism, we will occupy an insignificant place in the world.”

Consequences of sanctions against Russia

What sanctions were imposed against Russia in 2014? In response to Russia's actions in Crimea, the European Union, the United States, Canada and a number of other countries announced the imposition of sanctions. Measures include asset freezes and visa restrictions for designated individuals, as well as prohibiting companies from countries that have imposed sanctions from doing business with designated individuals and entities.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development decision of the Governing Council suspended the process of accepting Russia into its membership and announced the strengthening of cooperation with Ukraine

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organization of developed countries that recognize the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization:

Suspended military and civilian meetings with Russia and stopped planning joint military missions.
Suspended practical cooperation with Russia and excluded it from the process of eliminating Syrian chemical weapons.
Suspended all forms of cooperation with Russia, except for negotiations at the level of ambassadors and above.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has ceased cooperation with the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
Closed free access to the headquarters to all employees of the Russian mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the exception of the ambassador, his deputy and two assistants.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, the North Atlantic Alliance is a military-political bloc that unites most of the countries of Europe, the USA and Canada. Founded April 4, 1949 in the United States, "to protect Europe from Soviet influence."

European Union:

March 6, 2014 suspended negotiations with Russia on visa facilitation and a new basic agreement.
By a decision of the Council of the European Union dated March 17, 2014, he imposed sanctions against Russian and Crimean politicians and officials (individuals), in particular: prohibition of their entry into the territory of the European Union or transit, as well as the freezing of “all funds and economic resources that belong to, are in owned or controlled by these persons."
March 20, 2014 canceled the EU-Russia summit, scheduled for June of the same year.
On March 21, 2014, “due to the gravity of the situation”, he added the list of persons against whom sanctions are being imposed with 12 names of state and military figures of the Russian Federation and Crimea, as well as the head of the Rossiya Segodnya agency D. Kiselyov.
On March 25, 2014, he banned his embassies in Russia from issuing all types of visas to residents of Crimea.
On April 17, 2014, the European Parliament adopted a resolution of a recommendatory nature, in which it called for abandoning the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline.
April 28, 2014 decided to expand the list of persons against whom sanctions are imposed by 15 people, whose names were published on April 29 of the same year

The European Union (European Union, EU) is an economic and political association of 28 European states. Aimed at regional integration, the Union was legally fixed by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 (which entered into force on November 1, 1993) on the principles of the European Communities.

Council of Europe canceled all planned events in Russia, deprived the Russian delegation of the right to vote and banned its representatives from holding leadership positions in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and also banned Russian representatives from participating in observer missions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe until the end of 2014.

The Council of Europe is an international organization that promotes cooperation among all European countries in the field of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural interaction. Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe is Europe's oldest international organization. It consists of 47 states, in which more than 800 million people live.

European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation banned the implementation of air flights to the Crimea, as well as the implementation of flights in the airspace of the Crimea.

Eurocontrol is a European organization for the safety of air navigation, founded in 1960. It is an international organization working for a seamless, pan-European air traffic management system. Eurocontrol is a public organization and currently has 40 member states; its headquarters is in Haren, City of Brussels. Eurocontrol coordinates and plans air traffic control for the whole of Europe.

G8 "Big Eight" suspended the preparations of the leading Western countries for the G8 summit in Sochi in June and suspended Russia's participation.

The Group of Eight (English Group of Eight, G8), the Big Eight is an international club that unites the governments of Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, Russia, the USA, France and Japan.

It is also called the unofficial forum of the leaders of these countries (with the participation European Commission), within the framework of which the coordination of approaches to topical international problems is carried out.

Selected countries

Australia:

Canceled a number of government visits to Russia.
It froze the accounts and also banned the entry of eight Russian citizens and four Ukrainian citizens "who play an important role in the Russian threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

Albania

Bulgaria dismantled the South Stream pipes on its territory.

Great Britain suspended military cooperation with Russia, including stopping the supply of military items to Russia and canceling planned joint military exercises.

Germany:

Suspended the implementation of a military contract with Russia worth 120 million euros.
Stopped the export of defense products to Russia.
It froze the sale of satellite technologies worth up to 700 million euros.
She refused to participate in the annual intergovernmental German-Russian consultations within the framework of the Petersburg Dialogue.
Stopped the export of military products to Russia.

Iceland joined the sanctions of the European Union against Russia.

Canada:

Stopped military cooperation with Russia.
She expelled all Russian servicemen from her territory.
It introduced a ban on entry into the country and froze the assets of seven Russian and three Crimean officials.
Introduced sanctions against the open joint stock company " joint stock bank"Russia" and added 14 more Russian officials to its sanctions list.
She expelled the deputy military attache of the Russian embassy from her territory.
Introduced sanctions against the chairman of the Sevastopol Electoral Commission Valery Medvedev, the chairman of the Crimean Electoral Commission Mikhail Malyshev and the company "Chernomorneftegaz".
Being the state chairman of the Arctic Council, she refused to participate in its working meetings held in Moscow.
She refused to launch the M3MSat microsatellite using a Russian rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Imposed additional economic sanctions against nine Russian officials, as well as Expobank and RosEnergoBank.

The Canadian list almost completely repeats the US sanctions list.

Latvia:

Suspended military cooperation with Russia.
She stopped broadcasting the Rossiya TV channel due to "biased coverage of the situation in Ukraine."

Moldova joined the sanctions of the European Union against Russia.

Netherlands suspended military cooperation with Russia.

Norway:

Suspended participation in negotiations on the creation of a free trade area between the European Free Trade Association and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Suspended military cooperation with Russia until the end of May 2014.

New Zealand suspended negotiations with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on the creation of a free trade zone and recalled Trade Minister Tim Groser from Moscow.

Poland:**

Canceled the forum of regions with Russia.
Poczta Polska has stopped delivering letters and parcels intended for residents of Crimea.

United States of America (USA):

On March 4, 2014, investment and military cooperation with Russia was frozen, and bilateral negotiations and conference planning were also cancelled.

On March 17, US President Barack Obama announced that he had signed an executive order imposing sanctions against a number of Russian officials in the form of freezing their bank accounts, seizing property and refusing to issue entry visas. Seven people are listed in the decree by name, but the text also mentions the right of the secretary of the treasury to supplement the list in agreement with secretary of state. The list includes: E.B. Mizulina - Chairman of the Committee State Duma on family, women and children; L.E. Slutsky - Chairman of the State Duma Committee for the Commonwealth of Independent States; A.A. Klishas - Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation; IN AND. Matvienko - Chairman of the Federation Council; BEFORE. Rogozin - Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation; V.Yu. Surkov - Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation; S.Yu. Glazyev is an adviser to the president. The American corporation Morgan Stanley noted that the West is in no hurry with sanctions against Russia, "as this will significantly worsen the economic situation in Europe."

On March 20, they expanded the list of Russian high-ranking officials against whom sanctions were imposed, and also imposed sanctions against Rossiya Bank, which was called “the personal bank for senior officials of the Russian Federation” and major Russian businessmen , who were considered related business relations with President V.V. Putin (G.N. Timchenko, brothers A.R. and B.R. Rotenberg, Yu.V. Kovalchuk).

On March 27, they suspended cooperation with Russia in the field of combating drugs, and also suspended the issuance of licenses to American companies to export "potentially dangerous products" to Russia.
On March 28, they stopped licensing exports of defense goods and services to Russia.
On March 30, the work of the Russian-American presidential commission was stopped.
On April 2, a number of projects with Russia were suspended within the framework of a bilateral presidential commission, as well as some areas of cooperation through law enforcement agencies, and funding for their implementation was redirected to Ukraine.
On April 3, they suspended consultations with Russia in the field of missile defense, and also suspended cooperation in the space sector, with the exception of the International Space Station project and a number of projects in the field of peaceful atom.
On April 7, they stopped cooperation with Russia under the Nunn-Lugar program, and also closed access for Russian citizens to DOE facilities, including Brookhaven National Laboratory and Fermilab.
On April 11, sanctions were imposed on seven representatives of the Crimean leadership and the Chernomorneftegaz company.
On April 28, sanctions were imposed on 7 government officials of the Russian Federation and 17 Russian companies. They also banned the sale of high-tech goods to Russia, which can enhance the combat capability of the Russian army, and canceled previously issued licenses for their supply.

The first Russian companies to fall under US sanctions were Rossiya and Sobinbank. The Visa and MasterCard plastic cards issued by these banks have ceased to be serviced all over the world. Subsequently, sanctions were imposed against other companies associated with Vladimir Putin's inner circle: AquaNika LLC, Avia Group LLC, Avia Group Nord LLC, Zest CJSC, InvestCapitalBank, Sobinbank, Sakhatrans, SMP Bank, Stroygazmontazh ”, Stroytransgaz, Stroytransgaz LLC, Stroytransgaz OJSC, Stroytransgaz-M LLC, Stroytransgaz Holding, Abros Investment Company, Transoil LLC and Volga Group. Their assets are frozen, and 13 companies from this list will continue to need licenses to export products from the United States "with a presumption of refusal to export, re-export and other foreign transfers."

Ukraine:

She stopped broadcasting the TV channels Vesti, Rossiya 24, Channel One. World Wide Web”, “RTR Planet” and “NTV Mir” on its territory.
It froze the supply of weapons and military equipment to Russia.
Limited the period of stay for Russian citizens to a limit of 90 days.
Stopped pumping Russian gas into its underground storage facilities.
Joined the sanctions of the European Union against Russia.
Banned more than 100 officials - citizens of Russia, who supported the annexation of Crimea to Russia, from entering their territory.
Significantly strengthened border control of those arriving from Russia and Crimea: restricted entry for male citizens of the Russian Federation aged 16 to 60 who travel alone, except when traveling to relatives, to funerals, according to certified originals of invitations from legal entities and individuals or with the permission of the State Border Service itself.
Restricted entry for Ukrainian citizens with a Crimean male residence permit aged 16 to 60 who travel alone, except when traveling to relatives with a serious illness, if they have tickets for other planes, travel vouchers, or based on informing Ukrainian border guards.
Introduced filtration and verification measures for Ukrainian citizens with Crimean female registration aged 20 to 35 years.
The restrictions do not apply to Russians and Crimeans who arrived with families that include children.
The Constitutional Court of Ukraine has ceased cooperation with the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation.
Blocked the flow of water to the Crimean peninsula through the North Crimean Canal.

France:

Announced its intention to terminate the contract for the construction of warships for Russia and suspended most of the military cooperation with Russia, including the exchange of visits and joint exercises.

Switzerland:

Stopped the process of creating a free trade zone with the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Took note of the sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States and decided to take all necessary measures to ensure that Swiss territory is not used to circumvent them. She also confirmed that the visa restrictions imposed by the European Union apply to its territory in accordance with the Schengen Agreement.
Frozen military cooperation with Russia.
Introduced restrictions on the financial transactions of 33 officials from Russia, against whom the European Union had previously imposed sanctions.
Expanded its sanctions list by another 15 people. Sanctions were imposed on ten citizens of Russia and five representatives of the south-east of Ukraine. Restrictions on financial transactions are introduced against these people, and they are also prohibited from entering Switzerland.

Sweden ceased military cooperation with Russia.

Montenegro joined the sanctions of the European Union against Russia.

Czech

Česká pošta stopped delivering letters and parcels intended for residents of Crimea.

Estonia froze assets and property belonging to the mayor of Sevastopol Alexei Chalom, as well as his firms AS Tavrida Electric Export and Tavrida Electric Holding AG.

Japan:

She stopped negotiations on the liberalization of the visa regime for Russian citizens and suspended negotiations on the signing of agreements on investments, preventing a dangerous military activities and cooperation in the field of astronautics with Russia.
Canceled and stopped issuing visas to 23 employees of Russian state structures and other persons

In 2014, all the inhabitants of our country were taken aback by the news that the European Union and the United States are imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation. The list is even too long. Well, the topic is detailed and important, and it is worth discussing it, starting with the events of the spring of 2014.

Prerequisites

Two years ago, in March, the Crimean peninsula returned to the decision was made by the inhabitants of the republic, because they voted in a referendum. And at that moment, representatives of other countries and states suddenly remembered Crimea and considered that this was the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine initiated by the Russian government. They also decided that this issue concerns them directly. Therefore, Europe and the United States began to actively impose sanctions against the Russian Federation. The list is in the hundreds of items. By the way, the US government was the initiator of all this. The decision to impose bans was actively supported by other states. So it was planned to influence Russian politics and "return Crimea to Ukraine."

Initially, the list of bans was not as large as it became by 2015. The expansion of the list was due to the aggravation of the situation in the eastern part of Ukraine. In which, of course, Russia also turned out to be to blame - as representatives of other states believed. However, the situation is improving now. Many missions understand that with Russian Federation it is unprofitable to quarrel. And the bans are gradually being lifted. This needs to be told in more detail.

USA

This is the initiator who first introduced sanctions against the Russian Federation. The list began to be drawn up even before the return of Crimea to Russia. For example, on March 4, 2014, military and investment cooperation between America and the Russian Federation was frozen. As well as bilateral negotiations on conference planning. The bank accounts of certain officials were also frozen. They also banned the issuance of visas.

Subsequently, the United States stopped cooperating with the Russian Federation in the fight against narcotic substances. And on 05/07/2014, the Russian Federation was completely excluded from the trade program, which made it possible for states with economies in transition to send certain goods to America for export. Since the summer of the same year, the projects planned by the World Bank in Russia have ceased to be supported by the United States. Such large companies as Gazprom, Novatek, Lukoil, Rosneft and other well-known corporations also fell under the sanctions.

Against the Russian Federation, the list was very impressive. Sberbank, VTB, Rosselkhozbank, Bank of Moscow, Vnesheconombank - all these organizations were also banned. True, somewhat absurd, since the bottom line is that US citizens should not buy bonds from these banks.

Prohibitions that are hard to understand

Naturally, the US government did not like the fact that Russia practically did not react to all this. Moreover, everything, on the contrary, began to flourish. So, for example, in the Crimea, the Kerch bridge began to be built. They began to lay lines across the strait that would help supply the peninsula with electricity. This project, by the way, has already been finally completed.

After that, the US government decided to impose new sanctions against the Russian Federation. And they touched the Crimea. In particular, Kerch and the commercial ports of Feodosia, Kerch, Yalta, Evpatoria and the hero city of Sevastopol.

True, it was not clear to many how exactly these bans should affect the inhabitants of the country and the peninsula. It turned out that the US government does not like the fact that ferries of Greek and Italian production go through the expanses of the strait. But in reality, nothing happened - Protoporos, Olimpiada and other ships continue to successfully transport vehicles and people.

EU: visa ban

US sanctions against Russia are in the dozens. It would take too long to list all of them. The European Union also made a no less impressive list. Crimeans, for example, were banned from issuing Schengen visas of any type. However, as practice shows, this ban turned out to be only for the sake of appearance. The seals still continue to be placed in brand new Russian “foreigners”. Unless the process of obtaining a visa has become a little more difficult for residents of Crimea. And the embassies of the Netherlands, Italy, Greece and the Czech Republic lifted the ban altogether. They issue visas to Crimeans without any problems. So the "visa" sanctions of the EU against the Russian Federation also turned out to be weightless.

When will sanctions against Russia be lifted? This is unknown. Too many of them. Each state has introduced its own bans, and Russians do not even know about the vast majority of them. So, for example, the US government banned flights of its civilian aircraft in Simferopol airspace. True, before that there were no flights from the local airport to the United States, but this is not so important - the sanction was included in the list anyway.

However, in fairness, it should be noted that one significant ban still affected many residents of our country. This is a US sanction imposed on the Visa and Master Card payment systems for those banks listed above. However, this problem was immediately taken to solve. Creation of own payment system has begun.

Another significant sanction is the suspension by the German government of the implementation of a military contract with the Russian Federation, the cost of which was 120 million euros.

By the way, Russia did not stand aside and introduced its own "anti-sanctions", which came as a surprise to the EU and the US. Of course, this whole situation with bans cannot pass without consequences for the economy. However, there was no catastrophe as such.

Other prohibitions

The European Union has banned many public figures, politicians and even actors from visiting their countries. It is also not allowed for residents of these states to buy real estate in Crimea. The European Union also issued a decree that the supply of certain goods (the number of which is about 200 items) to the territory of the peninsula is prohibited.

Since the sanctions must have some effect, the EU, like the US, expected a reaction. That Russia will agree to give Crimea to Ukraine, for example. This did not happen, so the only thing left for Europe was to extend the validity of all its bans. First - until 01/31/2016, then - until 06/23/2016. Since it was not possible to achieve any changes with the bans, on June 22 this year, their validity was extended until 06/23/17.

This is in terms of the Crimea. Sanctions covering mainland Russia have been extended until 01/31/2017. When the sanctions against the Russian Federation will be lifted, it is not known. Actually, it's not that important. After all, as you can see, they do not have much influence.

In early August 2017, US President Donald Trump signed into law the Countering America's Enemies with Sanctions Act, which tightens restrictions on several countries, including Russia. This step finally removed the last illusions about the imminent lifting or easing of sanctions. Now it is already obvious that they will have to live with them for many more years.

The rules of various countries governing sanctions against Russia have become so numerous and complex that it has become difficult to understand them. This is what we are going to try to do now.

WHY DID THEY IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA?

The reason for imposing sanctions was not only the events in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea. First for Lately sanctions were introduced back in 2010-2012 as a result of a well-known corruption scandal. Previous disagreements with the West, including the 2008 war in Georgia, have not resulted in sanctions. V chronological order The reasons for the sanctions were:

"The Magnitsky Case"

Recall that according to some reports, a number of government officials of the Russian Federation and individuals have created a conspiracy to steal large sums from the Russian budget. The scope of the alleged abuses and the death in prison of US Heritage Foundation auditor Sergei Magnitsky caused widespread controversy, leading the US, the EU and several other countries to impose personal sanctions against the alleged perpetrators of the crime.

Currently, several dozen people are under sanctions, they are denied entry to these states, and all their property on the territory of these countries is blocked.

Sanctions in the "Magnitsky case" did not have much impact on the Russian economy. However, their political effect cannot be underestimated, since it was they who marked the final turn to the irreversible deterioration of relations between Russia and the West and became a model for the imposition of subsequent, much more unpleasant sanctions.

For the war in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea

In 2014, the US, the EU and some other countries imposed a series of sanctions against Russia as punishment for annexing Crimea and participating in the events in Ukraine. Personal sanctions were adopted against individuals and organizations, “sectoral” sanctions against certain sectors of the Russian economy, as well as sanctions against Crimea.

For "cyber espionage" and interference in the US presidential election

In late 2016, just before he retired, President Obama passed an executive order imposing sanctions for "malicious computer activities" against the United States, that is, for alleged Russian hacking during the US elections.

The list of those punished included the FSB, the GRU and several other organizations. Several individuals were also sanctioned, for example, a certain hacker Belan, nicknamed “Fedunya”, Bogachev, nicknamed “Monster”, as well as several GRU officials.

All these persons had their property blocked in the United States, and the Americans were prohibited from any transactions with them. Obama also expelled a number of Russian diplomats from the country and took Russian embassy two diplomatic dachas.

President Putin did not immediately retaliate, apparently hoping for better relations with the United States during the Trump presidency. However, when American sanctions against Russia were tightened in the summer of 2017, mirror measures were nevertheless taken belatedly - the dacha in Serebryany Bor was taken away from the American embassy, ​​and it was ordered to reduce staff.

For Syria

The US has imposed extensive sanctions on the Syrian government in connection with the ongoing civil war there. Several Russian entities also fell under these sanctions, for example, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Tempbank, Tempbank employees, Russian Financial Alliance Bank (now defunct) and some others.

The 2014 Ukraine Support Act also gave Obama the right to impose separate sanctions on the Russian Federation for the production and sale of defense products to Syria. However, the president did not use this right, since the sanctions “for Ukraine” already covered a large number of people.

For everything together

Contrary to popular belief, the justification for tightening sanctions under the recent US law in August 2017 was not just Russian alleged interference in the US presidential election. The law refers to a very long list of Russian transgressions, including annexing Crimea, harming Ukraine, supporting the Syrian government, corruption, fighting freedom of the press, interfering in the internal affairs and elections of many countries around the world, and much more.

Since there was no reason to strengthen the sanctions at that particular time, the prevailing opinion is that the adoption of this law was a purely American domestic political event, in which Russia was offered only the role of a whipping boy.

WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC CONTENT OF SANCTIONS?

Sanctions against the Russian Federation can be divided into several types according to their direct effect.

"Blocking Sanctions" on Individuals.

These are sanctions against individuals (legal entities and individuals) who, for example, are involved in “the establishment of state power in the Crimean region of Ukraine without the permission of the government of Ukraine, thereby undermining democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine.” Others were subjected to personal sanctions for other reasons: the Magnitsky case, cyber espionage, etc.

The property of these persons in the United States and other countries participating in the sanctions is blocked, and it is prohibited to conduct any transactions with them. The restrictions also apply to organizations more than 50% owned by these individuals. Individuals are prohibited from entering the territory of these countries. Americans are not even allowed to provide them with assistance of a purely humanitarian nature - to provide food, clothing, medicine.

A specific list of "blocked" persons is compiled by the US Treasury (Department of the Treasury) in consultation with the Department of State (Department of Foreign Affairs). At present, about 300 names are included in such lists for various reasons.

The current list of individuals is very diverse, it includes a variety of people from Strelkov-Girkin and motorcyclist Zaldostanov to Kobzon and Ramzan Kadyrov. Prominent economic figures, such as the Rotenberg brothers, the Kovalchuk brothers, Timchenko, etc., also got there - along with their subsidiaries. Is on the list and I.I. Sechin, but only in his personal capacity. Since Rosneft is not legally owned by more than 50%, the oil company does not fall under this type of sanctions.

The list also includes many legal entities, primarily defense industry enterprises such as Uralvagonzavod and Almaz-Antey.

Sanctions against Crimea.

Any transactions “in relation to” Crimea are prohibited. Investments in enterprises located on the peninsula, purchase and sale of any goods, services, technologies and property on this territory are prohibited. Specifically, about 50 Crimean enterprises (including, for example, the Yalta film studio), with which it is forbidden to conduct any transactions, also fell under the sanctions.

However, the US government still made some concessions - it issued exceptions, the so-called "general licenses". Any person is allowed to sell agricultural products, some medicines, spare parts there, provide some programs for use (for example, websites social networks), provision of certain telecommunication services. Private bank transfers to Crimea are allowed. True, in practice this is not feasible, since none of the banks operating in Crimea is connected to the SWIFT system, and does not have correspondent accounts in foreign banks.

Sectoral sanctions

This type of sanctions by the US and its allies affects the most important sectors of the Russian economy - banking and energy, limiting the ability to invest in them and supply certain technologies and equipment. The August 2017 law also gave the US government the right to extend sanctions to the railway, mining and metallurgical sectors of the Russian economy as well. The essence of these sanctions is as follows:

Restrictions on transactions with shares and debt obligations.

It is prohibited to conduct transactions with shares of a number of specific largest companies in the energy and financial sector of Russia, as well as with their debt obligations issued for more than a certain period.

"Debt transactions" include not only the purchase of bonds, but also the simple provision of loans.

These companies were divided into three groups:

• Prohibition on transactions with newly issued shares and debts for more than 14 days (until August 2017 - 30 days). This list includes the largest banks and financial companies of the Russian Federation (as well as their subsidiaries), including Sberbank, VTB, VEB, Rosagrobank, Gazprombank, Yandex.Money.
• Ban on transactions with newly issued debts over 60 days (previously - 90 days). The ban affects some of Russia's largest energy companies - Rosneft, Gazpromneft, Transneft and Novatek.
• Prohibition on transactions with new debts for more than 30 days. This group mainly includes companies in the defense and high-tech sectors.

All other transactions with companies from these lists are allowed.

Restrictions on Technology Transfer to Russian Energy Companies.

The detailed regulation of this type of restriction is carried out by several executive authorities in the United States.

The US Treasury has issued a directive prohibiting Americans from selling equipment, providing services, and transferring technology that would be used for oil exploration and production in deep water (over 500 feet, that is, about 150 meters), offshore arctic(located inside the Arctic Circle) and shale deposits in Russia and adjacent offshore areas by the largest Russian companies.

We are talking only about oil production, as Russia's European partners persuaded the United States not to touch the gas. The provision of financial services, such as lending and insurance, is not prohibited.

The list of companies that are prohibited from transferring such equipment is wider than the list that imposes a limit on lending over 60 days. It includes Gazprom, Rosneft, LUKOIL, Surgutneftegaz and other oil companies, but does not include, for example, pure gas Novatek.

At first, the ban on the transfer of equipment and technologies applied not only to these organizations, but also to companies in which they had more than 50% participation. But in August 2017, this restriction was tightened and now we are talking not only about the "daughters" of Russian companies, but also companies and projects in which they have more than 33% of the participation. In addition, if earlier it was only about projects in Russia (and adjacent to it), now the sanctions apply to operations around the world.

Another department - the US Department of Commerce - is issuing licenses for the export of products for which there is a regime of restrictions, including in view of the imposed sanctions.

An export license is required to transfer certain technologies and equipment that can be used, directly or indirectly, for the exploration or production of oil or gas in deep water (deeper than 500 feet), arctic offshore or shale fields in Russia, and also in cases where it is not possible to determine exactly whether the equipment will be used in such fields.

In this way, we are talking not only about oil production, but also about gas. Licenses are required for the supply of equipment and technologies to any company in Russia, not just those on the list of sanctions.

When applying for an export license, the presumption of refusal in cases where the equipment can be used in the mentioned fields for oil production.

Specific restricted equipment includes (but is not limited to): drilling rigs, horizontal drilling equipment, drilling and completion equipment, subsea processing equipment, offshore equipment likely to be used in the Arctic, well and wireline motors and equipment, drill pipe and casing pipes, software for hydraulic fracturing, pumps high pressure, seismic equipment, devices with remote control, compressors, expanders, valves, risers.

US Export Control is attempting to extend its rules beyond the US. Thus, the transfer to Russia of equipment containing at least 25% of American products from any country and by any person should fall under these restrictions.

By the way, restrictions on the export to Russia of equipment that can be used for military purposes, namely the requirement to obtain an export license, existed even before the Crimean crisis, so no separate sanctions were adopted regarding this type of product.

WHAT IS THE NEW PROVISIONS INCLUDED IN THE RECENT AMERICAN LAW?

The new US law, which Trump so reluctantly signed, includes several important provisions that affect the interests of the Russian Federation.

First, the procedure for reviewing sanctions has changed dramatically.

Previously, Congress passed only a "framework law" that gave the president the right to impose and lift sanctions on his own. Specific restrictions and lists of affected persons were adopted on a routine basis by presidential decrees and acts of certain ministries. This is how Obama accepted the sanctions. Now congressmen have incorporated into the new act all the sanctions imposed by Obama's decrees, thus giving them the force of law.

The new law also provides that the lifting of existing sanctions, changes to the list of affected persons, as well as the granting of critical exemptions (so-called "licenses") must be considered in both houses of Congress. If Congress does not agree to the lifting or modification of sanctions, it will take a decision about this - in the form of a law. This impromptu bill can be vetoed by the President, but in theory this veto can be overridden by Congress, as usual, by a two-thirds majority.

These new rules severely restrict the rights of the president and significantly delay the prospect of lifting sanctions.

Thus, in order to remove some repentant Zaldostanov from the list of persons under sanctions now, this decision will have to be considered in the form of a bill in the Congress committees, passed through both chambers, and, if necessary, vetoed. With the hostility of Congress, the only hope of the informal biker will be that Congress will not have time to override the veto within a certain maximum period.

Trump did not want to sign this law, but was forced to do so, because he understood that his veto would be easily overcome - both Democrats and Republicans unanimously voted for the bill, and there were only a few "against" votes.

Secondly, the new law toughened the regime of already existing sectoral sanctions against the Russian Federation. As we have already mentioned, the maximum term of permitted debt obligations has been reduced. The new deadlines were 14 days for banks under sanctions (previously 30 days) and 60 days for energy companies (previously 60 days).

In addition, as already mentioned, the law tightens restrictions on Russian oil projects in deep water, offshore Arctic and shale fields, setting a maximum threshold for participation Russian organizations 33% in projects to which Americans can sell equipment and technology.

Third, by law, Congress gives the president the power—and in some cases, the obligation—to impose all sorts of new sanctions against certain individuals.

Thus, the President can impose sanctions - in coordination with United States allies - on any person who sells equipment, technology and services worth more than $ 1 million related to the construction, modernization and support of Russian pipelines that send energy for export, or commits related investments.

It was this point that aroused the indignation of the Europeans, who saw here, not without reason, an attempt to ban the construction of new pipelines from Russia. In order to reassure them, the Americans inserted the wording about "coordination with allies" into the final law.

This provision is actually extraterritorial - restrictions are imposed not only on American persons, but in general on any individual and legal entity in the world.

But keyword here - "may". It seems unlikely that, under the current conditions, the US president would impose sanctions on Europeans, for example, for participating in Nord Stream 2. However, selective application of such sanctions is likely.

According to the same law, the President of the United States is obliged to impose sanctions on:

• those who knowingly engage in “actions that undermine cybersecurity against any person, including a democratic institution or government, on behalf of the government of the Russian Federation”;
• responsible for “ordering, controlling or otherwise directing serious human rights violations in any territory forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by the government of the Russian Federation”.
• any persons who carry out “significant operations” with persons who are part of, or acting on behalf of and in the interests of the “defense or intelligence sectors of the Government of the Russian Federation”, including the GRU of the General Staff and the FSB. To prevent Trump from evading this provision, he was ordered to issue rules within 60 days on how to identify such individuals.

This is one of the strangest points in the entire law. Theoretically, any buyers of Russian weapons in the international arena could be subject to sanctions.

• any person who makes an investment in excess of $10 million (or assists in making that investment) if that investment would result in the Russian Federation being able to privatize state property in a manner that would unfairly enrich any Russian official or their friends and relatives.
• foreign persons who facilitated the acquisition of various types of weapons by the Syrian government.

All these sanctions can be applied to any individual and legal entity in the world, no matter where he lives, and no matter what citizenship and jurisdiction he has.

It is difficult to say how actively President Trump will impose these sanctions. In the "statement of signing" - a note accompanying the signing of the law, he stated that he did not agree with many of the provisions of the law (including some of these points), but would sign it in the interests of "the unity of the nation."

In the history of the United States, there have been cases when presidents signed laws, with some insignificant part of which they did not agree, as they indicated in their “statement of signing”. This statement was then used to try to avoid the implementation of these controversial provisions of the signed law.

Fourth, the law contains a declaration of support for Ukraine’s energy industry, including a statement that US policy is to “continue to oppose the Nord Stream 2 pipeline,” given its devastating impact on the energy security of Europe, the development of the gas market in Central and Eastern Europe and Energy Reforms in Ukraine”.

The law also rather cynically states that "the United States government must prioritize the export of United States energy resources in order to create jobs in America, help allies and partners of the United States, and strengthen the foreign policy of the United States."

This latest declaration caused a lot of criticism from the Europeans, who saw in all this law only the desire of the United States to strengthen its position in the European energy market.

It is possible, however, that this in itself legally useless provision was introduced only in order to prick Trump in a Jesuit way - if he had not signed the law, he would have been reproached for being against creating jobs in America, which was one of the main points of his election program.

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE PARTICIPATED IN THE SANCTION REGIME?

The sanctions regime was adopted by almost all countries that can be conditionally called the “white world”. These are the USA and Canada, all countries of geographical Europe, with the exception of Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and, of course, Belarus. In addition, Japan, Georgia, Australia, New Zealand and some small Caribbean states have adopted laws on sanctions against the Russian Federation.

The EU sanctions are almost exactly the same as the US sanctions that were in place before the August 2017 law. Only the specific list of persons under sanctions is somewhat different. However, the accession of the Europeans to the latest round of sanctions is still in question. Judging by the protests coming from the representatives of the EU, it is unlikely that this bloc will automatically join the new restrictions, at least not exactly all of them.

And yet, despite the fact that the latest sanctions adopted by the Americans were perceived ambiguously, it is unlikely that the "sanctions coalition" will fall apart in the near future.

WHO MUST COMPLY WITH THESE SANCTIONS? SHOULD NATIONS NOT PARTICIPATED IN THE SANCTION REGIME OBEY IT?

US law establishes that the restriction regime applies to transactions of "US persons or in the United States" (US persons and in the United States). "U.S. Persons" means U.S. citizens, permanent residents, U.S. companies (including branches of foreign companies), and all persons located on its territory.

From a formal point of view, this wording does not imply an attempt to extend American regulation extraterritorially. All persons against whom sanctions are imposed are the object, not the subject, of US law. Foreigners who violate sanctions, the Americans, in theory, can simply be included in the sanctions list, but they cannot be punished precisely for violating the sanctions regime.

The difference here is big - when you get on the sanctions list, you simply lose the opportunity to travel to America and do business with the Americans; if they admit that you are violating the sanctions regime, then you can be subjected to criminal punishment in the United States and go to prison for 20 years.

Recently, however, some purely legally extraterritorial element has also appeared in the practice of enforcement of sanctions. Any non-cash settlements in US dollars between persons, even those who are not located in the United States, are considered to be transactions carried out in the United States as well, since money transfers usually go through correspondent accounts of American banks.

Thus, a Chinese, and even a Russian, who paid something, or received something in non-cash dollars from a company under sanctions, can also theoretically be recognized as a violator of sanctions - and be detained somewhere in Thailand and sent to America to go to jail for 20 years.

In EU legislation, on the contrary, the persons who must comply with sanctions against the Russian Federation are very clearly defined, namely:

• citizens of EU member states,
• organizations established under the laws of EU member states,
• organizations doing business wholly or partly in the EU,
• any person within the EU
• any persons on the territory of any aircraft or vessel flying under the jurisdiction of EU Member States.

WHY ARE RUSSIA'S PARTNERS SO AFRAID OF VIOLATING THESE SANCTIONS? CAN THESE SANCTIONS BE BYPASSED?

Companies with international operations are very afraid of punishment for violating sanctions, especially from the United States. If they conduct at least some activity in the United States, Americans can consider them subjects of their laws and, accordingly, punish them for this violation.

As we have already indicated, even if a company has never conducted any activity in the USA, and not a single one of their employees has ever set foot there, but in the calculations it uses American dollars - it can be recognized that it does business in the USA as well. and, therefore, is obliged to comply with the sanctions regime.

In 2015, the US authorities fined the largest French bank, BNP-Paribas, a mind-boggling sum of $9 billion (not a typo, just billions) for allegedly violating US sanctions against Iran. Although France does not participate in the Iran sanctions regime and the bank's division dealing with Iran was not located in the US, the reason for the fine was that the bank settled these transactions through US dollar correspondent accounts.

Despite the protests of the French government, the fine was imposed, and BNP-Paribas paid for it, as the alternative would be to ban the bank from using dollars in settlements, that is, the actual closure of the bank.

To be frank, the US government has been acting a bit like a bandit lately, and it takes money not only from foreign corporations, but also from native American companies - for example, $ 13 billion was taken from J.P. Morgan Bank in the form of fine for alleged violations in mortgage lending, the Bank of America - $ 17 billion.

In the United States, not only the president can impose fines, but also very numerous agencies and departments, federal and state levels, whose leaders in this way - "punishing evil corporations" - increase their political capital. Recently, there has been an unprecedented strengthening of the role of the state in the United States, despite the fact that all legal institutions, decentralization and the number of rogues in power have remained unchanged there since Marktven's times, when the role of the state was very weak and it could not harm anyone much.

Against this background, it would be the simplest and most honorable thing to fine a company like Siemens several billion dollars by the authority of some New York State Comptroller for violating the sanctions regime. It is not surprising that international companies are afraid to somehow provoke the annoyance or attention of American "competent authorities".

As we have already said, in addition to fines, there is also a very severe criminal punishment for violating the sanctions regime for an individual (including corporate officials). This is a fine of up to $1 million and a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Given all this, it is not surprising that foreign corporations are trying to avoid violating the sanctions regime and not getting involved in schemes to evade them.

WHAT IMPACT DID THE SANCTIONS HAVE ON THE ECONOMY OF RUSSIA, INCLUDING THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR?

There is no doubt that in recent years the Russian economy has experienced significant difficulties. However, it is difficult to determine how large the contribution of international sanctions is to this.

In general, there is an opinion in the press and among economists that the main reason for the difficulties in the Russian economy was not international sanctions, but the fall in oil prices. In 2016, for example, oil and gas exports from Russia amounted to $151 billion, up from $349 billion in 2013.

In addition, there are structural problems of the Russian economy: excessive stateization, inefficient state institutions and regulation, corruption, which caused economic growth in Russia to slow down even before the Crimean crisis.

Still, the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy cannot be underestimated.

The most serious damage is caused by the restriction of lending to large Russian banks and companies from abroad. The first blow was the need to repay large loans foreign creditors without the possibility of refinancing. In total, in 2014-2016, the difference between repaid and attracted loans of Russian companies amounted to about 170 billion dollars. Although the Russians, in general, have so far managed to get out, but such a monetary failure has become one of the reasons for the devaluation of the ruble.

Even more serious are the long-term consequences of restricting foreign lending. Most major investments, including in the real sector of the economy, for example, the opening of new industries, are carried out through bank loans, including syndicated ones, with participants from many countries. Inside the Russian Federation, there is now little capital for investment (in 2016, the assets of the banking system for the first time in the history of the Russian Federation decreased), Europe, the USA and Japan, that is, 95% of the global financial market, are closed to Russian borrowers, and the Chinese are not yet eager to invest a lot in Russia.

Since only the largest banks, such as Sberbank, VTB, were sanctioned, it is theoretically possible that Western financing will go through other banks that are not sanctioned. However, this is unlikely to be a strong source of investment, not least because Russia's banking system is now becoming more and more consolidated.

There is a high probability that without the resumption of lending from abroad, the resumption of high economic growth rates in Russia will be difficult.

The energy industry has also been directly affected. Sanctions have had a particularly unpleasant impact on heavily indebted companies such as Rosneft. There were rumors that it was the actions of Rosneft that caused the collapse of the ruble exchange rate, as the company was forced to buy dollars on the open market in huge quantities due to the inability to borrow money in dollars.

As for restrictions on the supply of equipment, it affects a rather narrow area: deep-water drilling, production on the Arctic shelf and shale oil. Therefore, on a macroeconomic scale, the impact of this ban is not very strong. However, for individual companies, these sanctions, and especially those adopted in August 2017, are quite painful, as they limit their ability to develop some new projects.

Sanctions also have a negative psychological and moral impact. The situation when the country is under sanctions scares away most of the investors. If foreign companies already operating in Russia can still decide to develop and invest new money, then companies that have never operated in Russia are unlikely to open their enterprises and invest money in the country.

Sometimes the opinion is expressed that sanctions are an incentive for the development of their own industry. But this statement is more than debatable.

A certain "import substitution" is actually happening now. But it makes no sense to rejoice and praise the sanctions for this.

First, such import substitution has its own main reason a sharp devaluation of the ruble, as a result of which the import of various kinds of products from abroad, including equipment, has dropped significantly. Although the ban on lending to large Russian companies for a long period was also one of the reasons for the devaluation, it is likely that the ruble would have fallen sharply without these measures, but simply as a result of the collapse in oil prices.

Secondly, even if the sanctions somehow caused, through devaluation, a decrease in imports and some growth in demand for domestic products, the price of this improvement is very high - the possibility of lending is closed for enterprises. Due to the instability of the ruble, interest rates in lending are very high. Until now, enterprises are credited at 15-20% per annum, and this despite the fact that the official inflation rate, according to the latest data, is about 4%. This rate is almost certainly higher than the average rate of return for the entire engineering industry. Where it makes sense to lend in dollars, for example, in oil and gas production, lending from abroad is in many cases closed, as a result of which a significant number of large projects cannot start.

And, thirdly, all import substitution takes place, as it is not sad to admit, at a very low technological level.

Indeed, many oil companies are now ditching the costly services of companies like Schlumberger or Halliburton and are starting to call on "Uncle Vasya" again to solve their problems. But truly high-tech industries are developing extremely slowly due to serious structural problems in the Russian Federation.

In addition to the problems already mentioned (inefficient state, corruption, etc.), the most difficult issue of the lack of technical personnel should be mentioned. The old engineering cadres are leaving, the young ones are not being trained in the required quantity and quality. The system of secondary technical education has completely collapsed.

Under such conditions, the task of building a mass competitive high-tech production in Russia is extremely difficult.

WHEN WILL THE SANCTIONS BE REMOVED?

The lifting or easing of sanctions is currently extremely unlikely due to the international political situation, the internal political struggle in the United States and the legal complexity of this process.

As for the EU sanctions, it is quite easy to lift them legally. Unlike the United States, where sanctions are regulated by a whole bunch of documents, the EU sanctions were adopted by one document. European sanctions were first adopted in July 2014 for a period of six months, then they were repeatedly extended every 6 months - the last time on June 28, 2017.

To extend the sanctions, all EU member states must vote unanimously each time. The specific list of persons under sanctions is being supplemented on a routine basis executive bodies EU.

Thus, it is enough that at least one country votes against, and the sanctions will not be extended and will stop. It is unlikely that any country would go against all the rest. However, if the main members of the EU decide to end the sanctions, no country from the "belt of sufferers" like Poland or Lithuania will be able to prevent this. In this case, the principle of unanimity in the EU works to Russia's advantage.

Formally, EU sanctions are being extended due to Russia's failure to comply with the Minsk agreements. Recall that the Minsk agreements on February 15, 2015 (Minsk-2), adopted during the meeting of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, are now not being implemented by either Russia or Ukraine. The agreements include such difficult-to-implement provisions as the transfer to the Ukrainian government of control over the state border between the Russian Federation and Ukraine in the Donbas region. These agreements impose an obligation on Ukraine, among other things, to change the constitution and grant special status to parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which Ukrainians are also in no hurry to do.

It is difficult to say whether the theoretical implementation of these agreements by Russia will entail the lifting of sanctions by the EU. The very act of sanctions states that they are imposed, among other things, due to the annexation of Crimea by Russia. So the fulfillment by Russia of its part of the Minsk agreements does not yet guarantee the lifting of EU sanctions. However, the hypothetical cessation of the “annexation” of Crimea cannot guarantee anything either.

However, the lifting of European sanctions without the lifting of US sanctions, which have a certain extraterritoriality, will not greatly improve the position of the Russian Federation. American sanctions will be much more difficult to lift.

First, at present, no prerequisites for improving relations between the Russian Federation and the United States are foreseen. Trade between the Russian Federation and the United States has always been at a rather low level, and the Americans are not particularly interested in improving relations with the Russian Federation. It is much more profitable to continue to use it as a bogey for the sake of "the unity of the nation."

Secondly, the lifting of sanctions will require the adoption of a corresponding law, which will have to pass through both houses of Congress. Given the constant squabbles, intrigues and inner-party struggle in this body, it will be difficult to achieve this.

Thirdly, as long as the international situation remains tense, and the Ukrainian and Crimean issues remain unresolved from an international legal point of view, there is no pretext for lifting sanctions. A legal solution to this issue during the life of the majority of readers of this article may not come. Let us recall that, for example, the problem of Northern Cyprus has not been resolved since 1974, and is unlikely to be resolved in the near future.

Sanctions can be lifted in the near future only in the event of a radical change in the international political situation, for example, when some common strong enemy appears. If such an unlikely event does not occur, it could be decades before the sanctions are lifted.

Ruslan Khaliullin

Society, 06:44

The State Duma proposed to introduce sanctions for abusing the "emergency gang" ... Vitaly Milonov invited the head of the traffic police, Mikhail Chernikov, to consider introducing sanctions against abusing "emergency gang" drivers. This is reported by RIA Novosti, in connection with this, Milonov asked Chernikov to evaluate the issue of using certain sanctions for those responsible for the restriction of movement. The government announced plans...

Politics, 01:42

Forbes called US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 "one year late" ... late demanded of them to "turn off work" The United States introduced too late sanctions against the companies involved in the construction of the Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline ... the restrictions are “too weak, too late”, and even against Russia’s opponents these sanctions won't like it. Rapoza explained that the United States demanded "immediately stop the related ... Kozak announced an adequate response to sanctions against Nord Stream 2 ... Russia's response to American sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be adequate and balanced. Oh... , Russia understands how to do it. The State Department recalled the terms of avoidance sanctions because of Nord Stream 2, on December 20, US President Donald Trump signed the defense budget for 2020, which provides for sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream. Before signing... Ukrainian Foreign Minister reminded Germany of the danger of Nord Stream 2 ... the German oil and gas company Wintershall. Official Berlin supports the construction of the gas pipeline. Against sanctions The United States has repeatedly spoken out against the gas pipeline by German Chancellor Angela Merkel ... The State Department recalled the deadlines for avoiding sanctions due to Nord Stream 2 ... participating in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can avoid American sanctions, if they stop work within 30 days from the date of signing ... the Baltic Sea, "immediately stopped construction." Trump signed the defense budget with sanctions against Nord Stream-2 The State Department also pointed out that ... European affairs. According to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, for sanctions the construction of the gas pipeline will take "a little bit more time." Minister of Energy... The main events of 2019. RBC newspaper ... Share Share Facebook Twitter Vkontakte Odnoklassniki Withdrawal sanctions from Russian companies, the US Treasury removed sanctions from businessman Oleg Deripaska's companies En+, Rusal ... these companies. This was an unprecedented act - before that, from anti-Russian sanctions no one was released. Download PDF Share Share Facebook Twitter Vkontakte Odnoklassniki Sanctions WADA WADA recommended for four years to remove Russia from... The Foreign Ministry promised a "mirror response" to sanctions against Nord Stream 2 ... the department's briefing stated that the Russian side would mirror the response to the American sanctions against further construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The briefing is being broadcast...”, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized. Maria Zakharova also named American sanctions against the construction of the pipeline contrary to international law, as well as going ... 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Senator responded to Poroshenko's words about sanctions for gas supplies from Russia ... The call of the former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to introduce sanctions because of reports of contracts between Ukrainian companies and Gazprom for ... -President of Ukraine, Russian State Duma deputy Natalya Poklonskaya. Poroshenko urged to introduce sanctions for the supply of Russian gas to Ukraine On Sunday, December 22, Petro Poroshenko announced that his European Solidarity party would demand the introduction of sanctions, since, in his opinion, Moscow will sell gas "fifth ... Lavrov said the United States is unreliable due to sanctions on Nord Stream 2 ... to intimidation, by and large by different methods - sanctions, ultimatums, threats,” Lavrov added. Caught under sanctions US Allseas diverted those who built Nord Stream 2 ... The United States included in the country's defense budget for 2020 sanctions in relation to the operators of the Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream ... Nord Stream 2 pipelines, suspended work on the project due to sanctions. Prior to this, after the adoption of the document in the US Congress, Allseas received... Senators in the United States set the conditions for lifting Russia's "sanctions from hell" ... the initial version of the document did not specify the procedure for introducing sanctions. The senators proposed to introduce sanctions unconditional: restrictions on Russia should have been introduced ... Graham - Menendez establish the theoretical possibility of refusing to introduce sanctions. DASKA involves the introduction sanctions against Russia for two reasons: interference in domestic politics... The Kremlin commented on the withdrawal of Allseas ships that built Nord Stream 2 ... the construction zone of Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea due to sanctions USA. This was stated to journalists by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov, RBC correspondent reports. 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It includes sanctions against the sovereign debt of Russia, a number of banks, investments in energy... Senators responded to the US ambassador to the words of thanks to the EU because of the sanctions ... Grenella. He said that Washington took a "pro-European stance" on sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. According to the ambassador, he constantly ..., you need to listen to the public statements of the Europeans, the leadership of Germany, which considers sanctions US interference in the internal affairs of the EU. In Europe, they asked ... for the US defense budget for 2020. It provides an introduction sanctions against the contractors of Nord Stream 2. Then the Swiss company... The US Ambassador expressed gratitude to the EU for the sanctions for Nord Stream 2 ... 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The government noted that the restrictive measures are directed ... by the relevant requirement, threatening it with "collapse and fatal legal and economic sanctions". Washington considers Nord Stream 2 a threat to European security... Sanctions against Nord Stream 2 come into force ... by the President on December 20, 2019, the provisions of section 7503 (which lists sanctions regarding gas pipelines. - RBC) the military budget will take effect immediately ... , December 20, US President Donald Trump signed the defense budget with sanctions against Nord Stream 2 and Turkish Stream. The budget also ... on the suspension of work on the gas pipeline due to American sanctions. same day introduction sanctions against the construction of Nord Stream 2 was discussed by the Secretary of State ... Politics, 20 Dec, 16:05 Erdogan vows to respond to US sanctions against Turkish Stream ... 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Sanctions against Russia have become a trigger for many events in the economy and politics of Russia and other countries. What is the reason, essence and role of sanctions?

The history of the emergence of recent sanctions against Russia

After the memorable event of Maidan 2014 in Ukraine, the political situation around the world began to rapidly change. Until that moment, there were no pronounced disagreements between the Russian Federation and other states, or they were of a completely familiar working character. But in 2014, Maidan happened, and Ukraine came under the control of a group of people who began to build an exclusively pro-Western policy for the country, which ultimately turned into many troubles for Russia, including anti-Russian sanctions by the United States and many other countries.

Most people in 2014 in Ukraine were not ready to accept such changes. And quite expectedly, in many regions, especially the southeastern ones, as well as in the Crimea, protest moods began to rise. These initiatives were actively supported by Russian politicians, especially deputies of the presidential Party of Regions.

Russian politicians also played a significant role in creating resistance to the Kiev authorities, who began to actively promote the ideas of an uprising of the Russian population of Ukraine against the political regime established there.

First, this resulted in the secession of Crimea (see) with a referendum for independence and accession to Russia, and then into a full-scale war in the South-East of the country (Donetsk and Lugansk regions), where after the same referenda, accession to the Russian Federation did not happen.

In 2014-2015, a full-scale war broke out in the Donbas using all possible types weapons. The Ukrainian side stated that it was fighting separatism and the desire of Russian-backed forces to separate part of the country, Russia claimed that Ukraine was Civil War and she has nothing to do with it.

The reaction of the world community was expressed in the form of sanctions

As a result, the world community, led by the United States and Europe, unequivocally took the side of Ukraine and began to introduce economic and political barriers and restrictions against the Russian Federation. Anti-Russian economic sanctions in the eyes of the leaders of these countries have become the main instrument of pressure on Russia to stop allegedly sponsoring separatism in Ukraine and providing military assistance to the Donbass militias.

Since the introduction of bans, the sanctions have only expanded and now, in 2018, they have already reached a very serious level. Since the beginning of 2018, more and more new restrictions have simply rained down on Russia, which should affect vital areas of the economy. The essence of anti-Russian sanctions is pressure on the country's foreign policy pursued by the President of the Russian Federation.

Interesting fact: one of the episodes of the war that played against the Russian Federation was Malaysia Airlines, where about 300 peaceful European tourists died. According to one version, a civilian Boeing was shot down by accident during the fighting. This incident was also used as a reason for serious restrictive measures against the country. According to the governments of the United States and a number of EU countries, it was Russia that provided the rebels with the Buk air defense system, with which the plane was shot down.

US sanctions in force in 2018

The United States was the first to introduce various prohibitions and restrictions against the Russian Federation. Here she began to develop long lists, which included various individuals and companies involved in the situation in eastern Ukraine and allegedly financing and supporting separatism. Later, especially in 2018, the matter took on a much larger scale and problems began to be created even for people and companies that had nothing to do with the aggravation in Ukraine.

The initial reason for the imposition of anti-Russian sanctions by America was indicated as follows: this is the condemnation of Russia's actions in Crimea, its support for the separatist movement of the Southeast, as well as a significant incentive to stop the so-called Russian aggression. The Russian Federation received clear claims addressed to it - it must comply with international law and laws, act within the framework of the Budapest Memorandum, completely stop undermining the situation in Ukraine and move on to a constructive dialogue with it to resolve the current situation. Later, the need to comply with the Minsk agreements, multiple ceasefires, etc. was added to the requirements.

When Donald Trump took office, anti-Russian sanctions increased significantly, although their reasons remained the same. A flurry of new restrictions followed in 2018. But now their focus has shifted significantly - the United States first saw that their previous sanctions actions were not very successful and decided to hit right in the heart - on the closest circle of President V.V. Putin.

Restrictions against individuals and legal entities

The anti-Russian sanctions of 2018 included restrictions against a large number of individuals (more than 200) and legal entities (several dozen) and their list is constantly updated. The tactic of the American side is now simple - to put pressure on the oligarchs and leading companies of the country in order to arouse dissatisfaction among the elite with the actions of Vladimir Putin and begin to put pressure on him in order to change the features of foreign policy.

The implementation of anti-Russian sanctions is tightly controlled by employees of the US Treasury, so no concessions or easing can be expected here in the near future.

Pictured: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

Trump also took a clear position - the Russian Federation should change its behavior and stop supporting separatism, return Crimea to Ukraine and leave the Southeast. Only after that it will be possible to talk about some positive dialogue and rectification of the situation, according to swissinfo.ch.

Russian counter-sanctions in response to sanctions

Since the consequences of anti-Russian sanctions for Russia are quite painful, no one is going to leave the question of an adequate response without attention. Just the other day, the State Duma adopted a law providing for America. Their essence is as follows:

• President Vladimir Putin may impose restrictions or prohibitions on interaction with certain unfriendly countries or companies;
• There may be restrictions on the export and import of raw materials, various products;
• Many Western companies will no longer be able to take part in the processes of privatization and government orders.

After the introduction of another list of restrictions, along with which the ruble weakened significantly, the United States assessed the effect of anti-Russian sanctions as very positive and effective.

Interesting fact: among the deputies, in all seriousness, the option of banning the import of about 1000 imported medicines (except for those that are indispensable!). Many people are wary of this decision and are waiting for a rise in prices and shortages in pharmacies. It remains to hope for a domestic manufacturer and analogues from other friendly countries.

It is important to understand that the European Union is moving in the wake of the United States on this issue and is largely acting against its goals, ambitions and benefits. Any friction with the Russian Federation for the countries of Europe is fraught with serious consequences, a rise in the price of gas and oil products, a decrease in their own sales markets, etc.

Nevertheless, America's influence here is so great that most of the EU countries also introduced a package of anti-Russian sanctions against the Russian Federation, also in connection with the Ukrainian events: the secession of Crimea and the war in Donbass.

European anti-Russian sanctions, a list of which is available even on Wikipedia, affect the majority of the country's elite, people involved in supporting the separatist movement in Crimea and the Southeast, owners of large companies, politicians, military, businessmen.

Here are just some of the well-known individuals and businesses affected by anti-Russian sanctions:

• Sergei Naryshkin;
• Valentina Matvienko;
• Dmitry Rogozin;
• Ramzan Kadyrov;
• Dmitry Kiselev;
• Vyacheslav Volodin and many others.

The list of companies includes:

• "Feodosia";
• "Dobrolet";
• "Almaz-Antey";
• "Kerch Commercial Sea Port";
• Gazprom Neft;
• Rosneft and others.

In total, the impact of EU anti-Russian sanctions affected 150 individuals and 38 large companies. .

As for retaliatory measures, the main counter-sanction in the European Union was a ban on the import of a large list of food industry products. However, it was announced National program import substitution, as a result of which the domestic producer must make up for the deficit that arose with the ban on the import of goods. Such measures are aimed at supporting the Russian manufacturer and gaining independence from Western products. In general, the program worked successfully and there was no food shortage in the country.

Recently, Trump and Merkel discussed anti-Russian sanctions and promised to continue to adhere to such a policy until the moment when their political goals are completed. Also, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has repeatedly expressed her opinion about anti-Russian sanctions, considering them harmful for a normal partnership, but necessary Currently.

Interesting fact: the main reason for the anti-Russian sanctions by the EU is still pressure from the United States, since our parties are vitally interested in interaction and normal relations.

In the photo: Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel

As the most affected party, Ukraine also considered it its duty to impose a number of restrictions against Russian enterprises and many individuals. The specificity here is that for a given country, any new anti-Russian sanctions are most often a shot in the foot, since the post-Soviet economies are tightly interconnected and until recently were one.

It is difficult to find Russian companies that would suffer too much from Ukrainian restrictions, but in Ukraine, almost any large enterprise, serious production, and even the work of scientific institutes were more focused on interaction with the Russian Federation. As a result, judging purely politically, restrictions have been introduced and everything is outwardly happening in the logic of events, but mainly Ukrainian enterprises and citizens of this country suffer from this.

Trade between the states has dropped to a record low, and there is nowhere to put the surplus of Ukrainian products - Europe does not need them, there are plenty of their own, local people do not have money to buy. As a result, the domestic market and production of Ukraine only suffer and gradually degrade. Each Kiev bill on anti-Russian sanctions is an alarm and a suspended position for hundreds of enterprises and millions of workers who receive already penny salaries.

The impact of anti-Russian sanctions on Ukraine is very negative, however, the list of companies and individuals affected by them is simply huge.

In the photo: Petro Poroshenko and Arseniy Yatsenyuk

Russia's response to Ukraine's sanctions

Russia's retaliatory actions are not so aggressive, but they exist and have affected a large number companies. As mentioned above, the vast majority of Ukrainian prohibition measures in themselves are shooting themselves in the leg, arm and whole body, so even if there were no answer, the Ukrainian economy is already rapidly degrading and losing even the semblance of a civilized country. Vivid confirmation of what has been said: the country is in the top 5 poorest in the world, every month there are about 100,000 people from here. If support for anti-Russian sanctions continues, it is obvious that the results will be even more deplorable.

Responsibility for compliance with anti-Russian sanctions

Most recently, State Duma deputies passed a law that provides for . This anti-Russian sanctions law states that any individual or legal entity that refuses to perform its usual functions inside the country for fear of falling under Western restrictions can be mistaken for a pest and prosecuted. These measures were proposed by the deputies, not Putin, but it is obvious that anti-Russian sanctions in connection with him should act less painfully and noticeably.

As for punishment, for violation of the law, an arrest for 4 years or a fine of 600,000 rubles is provided. But other variations are possible here. So far, the law is still very “raw” and it is difficult to discuss it more specifically. Also, at the moment there are no precedents for its use.

As a conclusion, we note that the new US anti-Russian sanctions are a painful blow, but it will not go unanswered, and the reaction of the country's authorities has already followed at the legislative level. Anti-Russian sanctions today are primarily politics, and they must also be fought in the political arena.