Alexei Kudrin, a key economic adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expressing serious concern about the new round of sanctions being imposed by the US, saying they could severely curb the nation’s economic growth, and prevent their economic recovery for decades to come.
While Kudrin downplayed the immediate impact of the US sanctions, he sees them as a long-term problem, particularly as Russia tries to regain the strong economic position it had before the collapse in oil prices in recent years.
This could particularly be a concern if the sanctions, as expected, go after European companies that are investing in Russia’s energy sector. EU officials have warned the US about trying to do this, threatening to retaliate against any moves against their companies.
Either way, Putin conceded today that at some point Russia is going to be obliged to retaliate for the various US moves against them. Though in the near term this is likely to be centered on expelling diplomats, if this really is a multi-decade problem Putin will be under ongoing pressure to keep ratcheting up the retaliation as well.
Alex Kudrin is not exactly Putin’s advisor. In Russia all former important figures get
cushy positions — not to become martyrs to liberal causes. So his opinions can be read more like “finally, I can make news”. But he is being usefull without gaining any points to his liberal crowd. Russia will now change tactics to more open “dialogue”. It is only the question of time before much more is known — not so much about Russia or Europe. We will know more about the power of Republican wing of the war party. The episode of voting for sanctions bill is telling. Votes have lined up like on a command. Exempt were two potential rulers of the “free world” just in case they are.needed. The stage management is so stale but they still think it works. Once they insure Trump is ineffective. But during work hours, Trump is theirs, and after work hours Trump is Trump. This cannot last forever.