Here’s how we know sanctions are hurting Russia
Now, with much of the world economy repudiating Russia after Vladimir Putin’s invaders stormed into Ukraine, the country is again on the cusp of a default on its foreign obligations.
While the West has made very clear it will not do anything that could be construed as joining in firefights against nuclear-armed Russia, its economic blockade and sanctions of an unprecedented scale are clearly having an effect.
It’s not clear whether China intends to provide Russia with that assistance, and both countries denied that Russia had made the request. Sullivan flew to Rome on Monday to meet with Chinese officials and discourage help for Russia.
Here, have rubles
Either nonpayment or payment in rubles for more than $117 million in interest payments on dollar-denominated government bonds due Wednesday would mean Russia had defaulted on its debt.
Russia has money to pay, but half of its foreign reserves are frozen by Western sanctions.
The default itself could end up being an endnote, according to Riley, since Russia has relatively small amounts of foreign debt. But it could cause major problems for any US firms that are exposed to losses, and it would surely further isolate Russia from Western companies.
Potentially seizing what remains
“Firstly, it would take us back a hundred years, to 1917, and the consequences of such a step — global distrust of Russia on the part of investors — we would experience for many decades,” he said in a message posted on Norilsk Nickel’s Telegram account on Thursday.
The only way this really ends
The question will ultimately be whether Russians are willing to accept their new status as global pariahs and give up the Western comforts some had grown used to.
Putin is obviously willing to accept these things.
“Nothing will stop Vladimir Putin,” said Vladimir Kara-Murza, the Russian dissident politician who survived two poisoning attempts. He appeared on CNN on Monday from Washington and said Putin has already erased 30 years of political gains since the Cold War ended.
“The only strategic endgame to this is for Vladimir Putin to no longer be in power in Russia. This is the only strategic solution. … Needless to say, only Russians can do that. Only Russian cans affect political change in our own country,” he said.
He argued the US and other countries should redouble efforts to get creative with technology and push information to Russians in the same way they did with radio networks during the Cold War.
What do Russians think? We don’t entirely know
What effect the sanctions are having on everyday Russians and whether…
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