Russia sanctions

“Expectations were too high”

(Bild: krone.tv)

Despite sanctions, Russia's economy is proving resilient. That's how Putin often presents it. But are the sanctions ineffective? "Not at all", says Professor of Russian History at the University of Vienna, Wolfgang Müller, in the krone.tv talk. "But the expectations of the general public were too high."

Russia countered the punitive measures cleverly, said economist Gabriel Felbermayer in a recent interview with the German magazine "Spiegel". Although trade with the West has declined significantly, Russia has increased its exchange of goods with other countries. For example, via Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan or Armenia. His conclusion: "The sanctions imposed by the West are being counteracted by a kind of informal free trade agreement between Russia and friendly countries."

So is Russia more robust than expected? "The expectations of the sanctions among the general public were too great," says Russia expert Müller. An economy the size of Russia's is large enough to be able to compensate for such sanctions, at least in the medium term." Russia is trying to substitute Western imports, such as high technology, with third countries.

Professor of Russian history at the university Wolfgang Müller

(Bild: krone.tv)

"Long-term difficulties"
However, this does not mean that the conclusion is that the sanctions should be removed. "Otherwise, what would be the West's general response to the biggest war of conquest in Europe since the Second World War?" The sanctions affect certain areas, according to Müller. For example, Russia is having difficulties substituting high technologies. "This is still possible in the short term. But in the long term, this will cause massive difficulties." As far as raw material exports are concerned, Russia is not getting the prices in China or India that the EU states have paid, or are still paying. The loss for Russia is therefore significant, both in terms of high technologies and export revenues for raw material deliveries.

Zoo murderer Vadim Krassikov and Russian President Vladimir Putin

(Bild: Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

"Strange code" of the Russian secret service
With the prisoner exchange, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a double signal, which also contains a dangerous component, explains Müller. It is a sign to the apparatus that the Kremlin is also trying to bring back life-sentenced contract killers, such as the Tiergarten murderer from Berlin, to his country. "You could say it's a strange code that prevails in the Russian secret service and is cultivated by the president. According to the motto: We're bringing these guys back home."

"Threatening message"
So far, less attention has been paid to the second competent person. Namely: what signal is this sending abroad? "You could say that the message here is actually a very threatening one." The Tiergarten murderer is a convicted criminal. "Russia is signaling to foreign countries that this convicted criminal will actually be brought back to Russia. And perhaps he will be sent abroad again at another opportunity. And that is something that must cause us great concern abroad, especially for the time after the end of the war."

The Tiergarten murderer, Vadim Krassikov, is particularly important to Russia, "because it was one of the most prominent cases. And because it was actually a contract killer."

You can see more topics, such as the situation at the front and the situation in Russia, in the video above!