Russia’s Response to Sanctions: How Western Economic Statecraft is Reshaping Political Economy in Russia

In the first in-depth analysis of the effects of sanctions on the Russian political economy, Richard Connolly details the Western sanctions targeting the energy, defense and financial sectors, and the Russian response. He explores how the Western sanctions have caused Russian officials to formulate rapid policy responses to enable the country to adapt to the new circumstances. The sanctions and the Russian response have caused the state’s role in the Russian economy to grow stronger and caused its policymakers to accelerate efforts to shift Russia’s foreign economic relations away from the West and toward Asia. Connolly analyzes how the political economy in Russia and the nature of the country’s integration with the global economy have been fundamentally reshaped. He demonstrates that a new system of political economy is emerging in Russia, and how it is crucial to understanding Russia’s future trajectory.