Compass Money: U.S. and EU Impose Sanctions on Russia Following Poisoning of Dissident

The European Union met last week to impose sanctions on Russia and the United States followed suit with additional sanctions. (Flickr)

The European Union and the United States announced on March 2 that they would impose sanctions on Russia following the poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny. The sanctions mainly target senior and mid-level officials directly linked to the poisoning of Navalny. Additionally, U.S. sanctions target 13 companies involved in the production of chemical agents. 

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) poisoned Alexei Navalny using a Novichok agent in August 2020. Navalny is a well-known critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. After Russian forces held him against his will at a Siberian hospital, Navalny was allowed to fly to Berlin for treatment. He remained there for five months. Upon his return to Russia in mid-January, authorities detained him, sparking protests across the country. These January protests were met with harsh treatment by police and many arrests. Police officers pushed some protesters onto frozen rivers amidst the chaos. As tensions rise in Russia, the government does not relent. Navalny was transferred to a prison, described as “unbearable” by his lawyer, on March 2. 

The same chemical agent used in Navalny’s poisoning was also used in March 2018 in Salisbury, England, on former [write out full name] (GRU) agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter. Dawn Sturgess, a Salisbury resident, died as a result of accidentally coming into contact with the substance. After learning of the Salisbury poisoning, both the U.S. and the EU imposed sanctions on Russia. In that case, the EU sanctioned four people, including the head of the GRU, the deputy, and the two agents who carried out the attack. The U.S. sanctions targeted the Russian economy more broadly. The first wave targeted exports of electronics with military applications and access to U.S. financial services. The second set of sanctions prohibited U.S. banks from making any loan except agriculture loans. 

This recent set of sanctions seems to follow a similar pattern to those announced following the Salisbury poisoning. The EU sanctions are very specific, and the U.S. sanctions have broader targets. The EU has sanctioned four individuals involved with the Navalny case, all high-level criminal justice system officials. The sanctions imposed froze their assets and banned them from traveling to the EU. 

The U.S. sanctions are more far-reaching than the EU’s. The U.S. sanctioned seven individuals, mostly senior and mid-level officials. They also sanctioned the director of the FSB, the agency widely believed to have poisoned Navalny, and two deputy defense ministers. Finally, the U.S. also targeted 13 chemical companies believed to have been involved in the production of chemical agents.

British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab tweeted the above statement on March 2. The international community has largely supported these sanctions. (Twitter)

Russian envoy to the EU, Vladimir Chizov, vowed that Russia would respond to the sanctions. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called U.S. sanctions “counterproductive.” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova warned that the sanctions would fail, adding, “any hopes to impose something on Russia by way of sanctions or other pressure have failed in the past and will fail now.” Across the board, the Kremlin has condemned the sanctions. 

Sanctions on Russia tend to have significant negative economic impacts. Following sanctions imposed after the Russian annexation of Crimea, Russian GDP immediately fell by 1.5 percent and continued to decrease dramatically. Overall, these sanctions are not as financial in nature as past ones have been. However, experts argue they might be more sustainable. These sanctions specifically address the attack on Navalny instead of attempting to target the entire Russian economy.