According to Russia Today TV on December 25, a recent study by the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences found that Western sanctions failed to sink the Russian economy due to the "great power trap" effect.
The researchers note that if a country – like Russia – is a major player in the global market, imposing restrictions on its exports will inevitably backfire, causing a global** spike. They are referring to the Western embargo on Russian seaborne oil **.
The G7 and the European Union imposed sanctions on Russian oil late last year in an attempt to cut Russia's energy revenues without causing a global energy** surge. In reality, however, they have a gyratory effect. The spike helped Russia financially offset the decline in oil, contradicting the "formal effectiveness" of the sanctions with the "strategic effectiveness," the study said.
According to Bloomberg calculations, Russia's monthly ** export revenue is higher than before the start of the military operation in Ukraine, with net oil revenues reaching $11.3 billion in October, according to the report. Alexei Kostin, an associate professor at Moscow University of Finance, argues that these restrictions have led to a reshaping of the financial architecture of oil and offshore** and a change in the "pricing environment" of global markets. In response to the sanctions, Russia has "successfully" shifted most of its energy exports to Asia – especially to India, China and Iran, where Russian oil is sold far beyond the West's $60 per barrel cap, the expert said.
Maxim Maksimov, an associate professor at the Plekhanov University of Economics in Russia, explained that attempts to blockade the world's leading exporters will only lead to instability in the market. He also said that Western countries "grossly underestimate" Russia's position as a global economic player. He concluded that at the moment there are no solutions that will be able to significantly reduce Russia's export earnings.
Commenting on the European Council's announcement of a new ban on Russian diamonds, Alexei Shizhniak, a member of the Russian Business Association, said that any new restrictions are unlikely to have a big impact on the Russian economy. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week that the diamond embargo was "permissible," stressing that "there are ways to circumvent these sanctions, and these will be achieved." (Compiled by Di Lu).