Imperfect Sanctions on Russia Are Still Making an Impact
Imperfect Sanctions on Russia Are Still Making an Impact

Summary/Abstract: For years, Russia’s ambitions have centered on restoring its empire—by force if necessary. Ukraine’s fight today echoes Lithuania’s struggle for independence decades ago, and their victory would symbolize triumph for a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace. Russia remains a clear threat to that vision. Sanctions are not an end in themselves but a tool to achieve broader foreign policy goals. The first sanctions on Russia, imposed in 2014 after its invasion of Crimea, were significant; they marked the first time such measures targeted an economy as large as Russia’s. In hindsight, however, those sanctions were modest. By 2022, the Biden administration had escalated the measures dramatically, freezing nearly $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets and capping Russian oil prices.

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