The economic sanctions enacted against Russia have proved a spectacular failure, hardening Russian resolve, enhancing Mr Putin’s popularity, but especially, causing greater economic pain to the European Union than to Russia.
Although the Russian market accounts for only a few percent of European GDP, at a time when the EU is teetering on the brink of renewed recession (inter alia, German economic indicators are now falling off a cliff) those few points can spell the difference between muddling-through and collapse.
The tame Western media find themselves desperate to produce a narrative showing the success of the sanctions regime – much as they did for various Washington policy initiatives: from the invasions of Iraq (Mission Accomplished!) and Afghanistan, to the war on “Terror”.
Russian GDP is indeed flat-lining – this predates the sanctions and can be attributed primarily to falling commodity prices and collapsing demand as Russia’s Western export markets slump into recession. If anything, the Russian countersanctions are driving import substitution, providing some support to industrial activity.
The Russian Rouble has depreciated by about 17% against the dollar over the course of 2014, due to a number of factors – the Western sanctions do not happen to being among them:
Complete story at - Russian news: The Rouble, A Perfect Storm - Russia Insider
Although the Russian market accounts for only a few percent of European GDP, at a time when the EU is teetering on the brink of renewed recession (inter alia, German economic indicators are now falling off a cliff) those few points can spell the difference between muddling-through and collapse.
The tame Western media find themselves desperate to produce a narrative showing the success of the sanctions regime – much as they did for various Washington policy initiatives: from the invasions of Iraq (Mission Accomplished!) and Afghanistan, to the war on “Terror”.
Russian GDP is indeed flat-lining – this predates the sanctions and can be attributed primarily to falling commodity prices and collapsing demand as Russia’s Western export markets slump into recession. If anything, the Russian countersanctions are driving import substitution, providing some support to industrial activity.
The Russian Rouble has depreciated by about 17% against the dollar over the course of 2014, due to a number of factors – the Western sanctions do not happen to being among them:
Complete story at - Russian news: The Rouble, A Perfect Storm - Russia Insider
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