Sanctions have Hurt Russian Business at Home But are Killing It Abroad

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 14 – Western sanctions on Russia have hurt Russian businesses significantly, but they have achieved their greatest success not within Russia but beyond its borders. Western sanctions have virtually killed Russian business activity in other countries, thus striking a blow against one of Vladimir Putin’s chief tactics to expand Moscow’s influence.

That judgment is offered by Telegram’s Boiler Room Channel (t.me/boilerroomchannel/1659), which offers a list of some of the largest Russian companies that have been hurt. Among them are:

·         Sberbank has been forced to pull out of Turkey.

·         Gazprom has lost the right to build the Northern Flow pipeline.

·         Novatek has been restricted in its ability to build new plants abroad.

·         Alfa Group has been limited in its ability to operate in the EU because of its ties with Aven and Putin.

Without such a business presence in Western countries, the Russian government loses not only the ability to make more money in a far safer environment than the one that exists at home but also the opportunity to launder money and to influence via nominally legitimate channels officials and politicians in other countries.