ABSTRACT
In March 2014 the United States and European Union imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its occupation of Crimea. They have steadily escalated these measures on account of further Russian actions in Ukraine and beyond. This is an unprecedented development with major implications for Russia, Western policy and the future of sanctions themselves. It marks the first time that the West has restricted, rather than supported, post-Soviet Russia’s integration into the global economy; the first time that Russia has been forced to seek alternatives to dependence on its most important economic partners; and the first time a country of Russia’s size and significance has been subject to major peacetime sanctions.
