Smart Take | Will the New Sanctions Against Russia Make a Difference?

Video Transcript

• Will the New Sanctions Against Russia Make a Difference?

  This video has been lightly edited for clarity

  The entities that are being targeted. You know, from the beginning have been those that have been fueling the economic engine of Russia, whether it be oil, it's diamonds, it's gold, as well as the war machine itself. There's new sanctions on North Korean suppliers of weapons. There have been previous sanctions on Iranian suppliers of weapons. And new as part of these sanctions is those that were involved with Navalny's retention and execution. 

  The European Union, for the first time is sanctioning Chinese entities. They had been trying to persuade China not to help circumvent the sanctions, and they finally, with their frustrations, decided that they needed to sanction Chinese entities. Are they being effective? Well, the Russian economy shrank a couple of percent in 2021, but it's grown a couple of percent since then, even though it's not forecasted to have a great year next year. So this hasn't prevented Russia from continuing to execute the war. 

  The Treasury Department suggests that its taken 5% off their growth. How has Russian achieved that? Largely through a significant amount of stimulus, 70% increase in military spending, possessor economic stimulus to mitigate the impacts on the Russian people. How long can Russia continue this? That's a question because there's a huge labor shortage as you look at so many Russians either getting out of the country or on the front lines, that continues to compress the Russian economy.