The Truth About Russian Sanctions, and Sanctions in General
Day after day, new sanctions or sanction-style acts surface, whether by official governments or businesses. Both attempting to punish Russia. However, the truth about these sanctions is much, much gri
After Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began just over two weeks ago, on February 24th, the sanctions have rolled in. Day after day, new sanctions or sanction-style acts surface, whether by official governments or businesses. Both attempting to punish Russia. However, the truth about these sanctions is much, much grimmer than many people think.
Sanctions and these punishments at face value are supposed to deter Russia from invading Ukraine. So when sanctions are placed on Russian oil, one of the most essential commodities in the world, it is made so that Russia will think twice about continuing their invasion. Beyond oil, sanctions have been placed towards limiting Russia’s central bank, and Russia has also been cut off from SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial). These steps were taken to remove Russia from the global financial system. They also all have the same goal in mind; to deter Russia from continuing to invade Ukraine.
Private corporations and businesses have also taken measures towards punishing Russia as well. Adidas, Nike, and Puma will all cease business operations in Russia; the same goes for Apple, Microsoft, Toyota and Volkswagen. Even the digital streaming platform Twitch has made it where Russian citizens can no longer get paid. All of this also comes on top of Russians being barred from global sporting events, eSports and much more.
The bigger issue is that as the war goes on, regular Russian civilians will continue to be affected more than any other type of Russian. The sanctions do not just hit the oligarchs. This also comes as regular Russians do not have much say in the war, or support. According to a Washington Post Poll, about 46 percent of respondents said they firmly supported the invasion, and about 13 percent said they somewhat supported it. Roughly 23 percent opposed the operation, and 13 percent had no opinion or declined to answer. About 6 percent said they were on the fence.
This poll should be taken with context however. It is coming from a country where as it currently stands; is led by a nationalist and arguably a fascist, and a country where any information can be skewed because of the current conflict. Russia is also a country that is also heavily influenced by propaganda via state owned media. So give or take 50% of people supporting the war, after it has already raged on for over two weeks, and their country and citizens have been punished in remarkable fashions, and castrated by global western media is still relatively low when given the circumstance.
The reason this context matters is because now that initial damage is done, Russian’s are likely more welcoming to the invasion or conflict. Especially as they are beginning to feel the punishments, albeit justly or not, they may be in a position to now sympathize with President Putin, as he now can turn to them and show how bad the west really is, whilst using the sanctions as an example. Tensions between Russians and Ukrainians themselves as well, will likely skew these numbers as war taking place is always a way to incite unpleasant beliefs potentially held within.
However, there are some murmurs about anti-war momentum now increasing, after the initial actions. Nevertheless, because of the nature of the situation, and the endless East v. West information war, and Russia’s state-media agenda’s, it has been tremendously difficult for reporters, academics and researchers to gage current support for the war.
Regardless, if we look at a poll done by the same outlet as the last, the Washington Post, which was published on February 11th, so just about two weeks before the invasion began, results are much different. Data collected in this poll showed that just 8 percent think Russia should send military forces to fight against Ukrainian government troops. Only 9 percent think Russia should train or equip separatist forces with Russian arms.
An issue with sanctions as well, beyond who they affect, is that they also do not work. Whatever idea that is being cast that sanctions will help win this war is simply a farce. In an interview with Jacobin, Volodymyr Artiukh, a Ukrainian academic specializing in labor and migration in the post-Soviet era, stated that “the sanctions will not stop the war. Only tanks and guns can stop tanks and guns.”
Even the notion that tanks, guns, and fuel and ammo are bought with money, so the sanctions surely will help on that front, is faulty. It is unsure how these sanctions will affect that, especially for a country as large as Russia. No one in geopolitics can also safely predict how China will react, or other Russian trading partners. There is no guarantees provided by these sanctions other than that they will disproportionately affect the commoner. People are only guaranteed to become poorer, starve and have their quality of life dwindle.
Another common point of these sanctions and punishments is that they will force the citizens to fight back against their government and oligarchs spearheading the war. In theory, this makes sense, but the United States and almost every western country recognize Russia as a non-democratic nation. So how exactly do they expect citizens of a non-democratic nation to combat their fascist, nationalist leader? To lead a coup and take up arms? Suppose ordinary Russians are responsible for the action of their oligarchic and fascist leaders. In that case, the citizens of actual democratic countries should be held even more accountable for actions committed by their countries.
The other reality is that this war is profitable. The sanctions, the social media support for Ukraine, and everything in between is simply theatre. This war has played directly into Western oil companies’ hands in a post-pandemic period where companies are itching to fill their coffers. Secretly praying for war behind closed doors, this war now opens up new profits for them as Russia will be cut off from the global financial and trade system. At the expense of millions of people in Ukraine, the West so-called “has the back of.”
If the West was so passionate and moved by helping Ukraine fight off imperialist Russia, why not cancel debts Ukraine owes to the International Monetary Fund and other global creditors? If the United States and Europe so desperately wanted Ukraine to be free and prosper and show that we are done with Russia’s antics, cancel Ukraine’s debt.
While canceling the debt will not win Ukraine the war, not having to service these debts will go a long way forward, not just for the war, but post-war life in Ukraine. It would mean that Ukraine would not find itself even more dependent on creditors or wealthy domestic oligarchs. The money is certainly there for the cancellation of debt as the United States prepares a 14 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, and the European Union has also opened their checkbook.
The other thing is this. Sanctions do not just affect Russia; they will affect us worldwide. Tens of millions of Americans will take to social media to complain about gas prices going up. However, the same people who will do whatever it takes for low gas prices support economic warfare against Russia, the direct cause of these high gas prices. According to The Independent, most Americans back Biden’s Russian oil ban, including 72% of Trump voters. This is also not to say that this economic warfare is the sole reason gas is going up. The latter is caused by capitalist greed, not by actual need and scarcity of significant oil corporations’ products. After all, the United States receives less than 3% of its oil from Russia.
The reason for this is that now places that do buy from Russia now have to buy from the same places the United States buys from. The market share overall is smaller, even though the United States isn’t directly affected. So this gives oil companies a fantastic opportunity to hike their prices up; because of basic supply and demand principles, the amazing free market provides us with. Even before the conflict started, U.S. oil companies were stating how they were ready to provide “product and stability” to their European counterparts.
However, an interesting thing to look at, regardless how supply and demand works, is this tweet right here:
Another glaring issue resulting from the sanctions that disproportionately affect the commoner is their effects on currency. One of the things being passed around now as a “success,”, especially from pro-Ukraine people, is that the Russian Ruble has plummeted in value. One joke that surfaced on TikTok made headway because it compared the Russian Ruble to the in-game currency of Roblox, a popular internet video game. This is not a positive.
The Ruble plummeting directly impacts working-class people, the impoverished, the wage laborers, the college students, and those who have had zero impact in deciding if this invasion was correct. Oligarchs, wealthy people in business, Putin and his cronies themselves, are all wealthy beyond regular comprehension. Even if their dollars are frozen, it would be naive to think they do not have access to still massive fortunes. Seizing their yachts, hundreds of millions, and other “luxury” goods, will not affect a billionaire’s way of life — because they are that rich.
Moreover, even if they were significantly affected, they have the power to socialize every loss they will encounter and privatize every profit they can, even if in Rubles, to continue to squeeze commoners of Russia dry. Putin, the oligarchs, and the Russian billionaires will not be hurting in their daily life as much as people think. The family of four, who works a blue-collar job, will. The college student whose savings will become worth 20% less overnight will be hurt.
As Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance stated in a Vox Media interview; this current situation will be the “worst economic crisis that many of them have seen.” In regards to Russians. The current economic outlook is comparable to the fall of the USSR and economy in the 90s. As she discusses, this is complete devastation to the commoner of Russia. Continuing to say, “The person on the street has already been suffering and doesn’t have much in savings, if anything. But at the moment, they risk not even receiving their pension payments.”
The truth about sanctions is that they are idealistic ideas that often never work. History also strongly suggests that Russia will not back down in lieu of any sanctions. As said by Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations; “There is very little in the history of sanctions that show they can get the target country to change policy on something that is important to the country”.
As this war grows stronger and consumes more of the world, the common man and woman will only be affected more. The wealthy in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and elsewhere will not feel the same effects as regular people. Even in the United States, the effects will be felt, as Russians will be ostracized, the cost of living will continue to go up while wages stagnant, and we attempt to climb out of a financial crisis slowly. Yet the already loaded coffers of big oil, the defense industry and oligarchs around the globe will become more filled. This conflict, and the resulting sanctions will work in tandem to put pressure on economies around the globe. Pressure that only the proletariat will feel.
The notion that there is always money for war also again proves correct; as people in the United States prepare for economic casualty within their home nation, the U.S. Senate prepares a 14 billion dollar aid bill for Ukraine. This is also in tandem with continuing to balloon the defense budget to $800 billion. However, all of these budgets will be passed even after the government voted to remove the expanded child tax credit, which brought 3.7 million children back into poverty this past January.
The best foot forward is to condemn Putin and condemn the relentless greed and yearn to accumulate capital present in our society. As many wars have been, this war is nothing more than a byproduct of the dynamics perpetuated by our capitalist system. Sanctions have a history of not working. They also have a history of castrating the people who have nothing to do with why the sanctions were placed. The truth is that sanctions will only continue to hurt and destroy common citizens’ lives, not just abroad in the countries they were placed, domestically in the countries who placed them as well. To quote Ukrainian socialist Volodymyr Artiukh once more, “There is no good news. It’s just death and death and death.” And to add to his sentiment, beyond death, wealth inequality, poverty, and standard of living will simply continue to live on.
Author’s Note: This belief of being against sanctions is not taking a stance that is pro-Russia. In general, all war is bad besides class war. This conflict is a byproduct of numerous events and happenings that allowed Vladmir Putin to use as a mask for his imperialist and chauvinistic ideas. Punishing the proletariat of Russia, does no justice in attempting to rid Russia of its oligarchic filth. It will only stretch their hands out wider, as they attempt to cut their losses. The proletariat will then become more coerced to sell their labor at lower rates, and live in a more exploitative society, with hopes of simply surviving.