Russia and Belarus are included in the top five countries in terms of the number of sanctions imposed on them, and the “blacklists” of Western countries are periodically replenished with new individuals and companies. The restrictions have already affected, among others, the central banks of the two countries, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, as well as members of governments. What is the difference between the restrictive measures against Moscow and Minsk and which Western brands have left the market of these countries – in Russian media equipment.
Sanctions history
The vast majority of serious restrictions against Russia were imposed by Western countries and their allies as part of the start of a military operation against Ukraine. In February 2022, 2,695 restrictive measures were introduced against Russia, then after the recognition of the DPR and LPR and the start of the conflict in Ukraine – 12,616, calculated Castellum analysts. Thus, Russia is today the country that breaks the record in terms of the number of sanctions pronounced against it.
The second largest wave of sanctions against Russia followed the “Crimean events” and the start of hostilities in the Donbass in 2014. The European Union in particular introduced three packages of restrictions against Russia – personal sanctions, sectoral sanctions and the so-called Crimea sanctions package. Before that in 2012 USA accepted The Magnitsky Act, which provides restrictions for people who Washington says were involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky and are responsible for human rights abuses in Russia.
Sometimes individual businesses were subject to restrictions. For example, in 1992, Washington penalties imposed against Glavkosmos, which signed a contract for the sale of rocket engines to India.
The main restrictions against Belarus relate to the 2020 presidential elections in Belarus, as well as Russia’s military actions in Ukraine in 2022, although the first time the European Union introduced restrictions against Minsk was in 1997. The EU suspended bilateral relations and stopped international aid amid results referendum in 1996. How noted Politico edition in 2020, “almost every vote in Belarus since 1996 has come with EU sanctions”. Currently, 1,169 restrictive measures are in force against Belarus, according to data from Castellum.
Lukashenko himself faced European sanctions long before the 2020 elections. In 1998 due to scandal with the expulsion of a number of ambassadors from their residences in the village of Drozdy in Minsk, the EU imposed visa restrictions on the President of Belarus and 130 senior officials, but finally the conflict was settled and the restrictions have been lifted. Already in 2006, the European Union, followed by the United States, penalties imposed against Lukashenka, considering the results of the elections then held were illegitimate.
What are the sanctions against the two countries
The hostilities in Ukraine have led to the sanctions of many Westerners (EU, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia) against Moscow and Minsk. Sanctions against Russia significantly bigger : for example, the EU is about to adopt the 11th sanctions package since February 2022, while against Belarus introduced five packages of sanctions after the 2020 elections, including three rounds of new sanctions in 2022.
Western sanctions against Russia and Belarus involve personal sanctions against natural and legal persons, including the first persons of states. Moreover, EU and US sanctions only affected Russian President Vladimir Putin after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, while against Alexander Lukashenko, the US injected restrictions in 2006, and EU – in 1998. EU sanctions against Lukashenko in their current form were approved in 2020.
Western countries have closed the skies to Russian and Belarusian planes. The ban on flights of Belarusian airlines over EU countries was introduced in 2021 after an unforeseen event landings Ryanair flight to Minsk to arrest opposition journalist Roman Protasevich. Russian and Belarusian assets were frozen on the territory of Western countries.
Western sanctions against Moscow and Minsk apply to the financial, defence, aviation, energy, mining sectors (or companies and individuals associated with them). Among other things, trade restrictions apply to a wide range of goods, including weapons, technology, dual-use goods, luxury goods and others. Medicines and agricultural products are not subject to any restrictions.
In addition, a number of Russian and Belarusian banks have been disconnected from the SWIFT financial messaging system. Now Russian banks such as Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya Bank, Sovcombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), VTB, Sberbank, Rosselkhozbank, Moscow Credit Bank are directly disconnected from SWIFT. In addition to them, a number of banks have been included in the sanctions lists. For example, the 10th EU sanctions package included Alfa-Bank, Rosbank and Tinkoff-Bank. Restrictions include freezing assets in EU countries, disconnecting from SWIFT, as well as a ban on transactions with them. In Belarus, only 4 banks were directly disconnected from SWIFT: Belagroprombank, Dabrabyt, Development Bank, Belinvestbank.
What is the difference between sanctions against Russia and Belarus
In addition to the scale of sanctions in various sectors, the restrictive measures against Russia and Belarus are distinguished by the fact that certain types of restrictions apply only to Moscow.
For example, the “Crimea” sanctions package introduced in 2014, which the EU again extended for the year in June 2022. The “Crimea” package implies a ban on importing products from Crimea or Sevastopol into the EU, a ban on infrastructure and financial investments and tourist services. Restrictions include the export of certain goods and technologies to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors or for exploration.
Similar restrictions in 2022 introduced and against the DNR and the LNR. The EU banned the import of goods produced in these territories, the ban also applied to the export to the regions of certain categories of goods and technologies.
Another difference between the sanctions was the price cap for Russian oil, which has been in effect since December 2022 and is set at $60 a barrel. In December, European countries also reached an agreement to cap the price of Russian natural gas at €180.
Which companies left Russia and Belarus
After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, many Western companies began to leave the Russian market. According to researchers from Yale University in the United States (the last time the results update April 23), more than 1,000 companies reduced their activities in Russia.
Some Western companies have announced their complete withdrawal from the Russian market (Nike, Ikea, H&M, etc.) or suspended their activities/supplies to Russia (Skoda, Volkswagen, Amazon, Booking, Johnson & Johnson – except for medicines and medical products ). Another part of the companies continued to work in Russia, but suspended the supply of new products (Adobe, Microsoft) or investments in new projects (Bayer, Pfizer).
Some companies left the Russian market by selling assets. So part of Inditex stores (owner of Zara, Bershka, Massimo Dutti) open under new brands MAAG, DUB, ECRU, VILET. Former Polish retailer LPP stores also changed names and owners (Reserved became Re, Mohito became M, and Sinsay became Sin), and L’Occitane stores opened under L’Occitane banners.
Find out how the Russian consumer market has changed after the departure of Western companies in Russian media hardware.
The departure of some brands from the Russian market has increased the popularity of trips to Belarus, where Russians will visit in the summer of 2022 begin shopping sprees. Now you can still go to Nike stores, eat at the original KFC, buy clothes from Inditex brands or buy brands of cars whose assembly has been suspended in Russia.
However, many Western companies left the Belarusian market together with the Russian market. For example, Amazon and Booking.com services do not work in Belarus, Swedish brand H&M stores are closed, and the former McDonald’s moved to the Mak.by brand.
“Parallel imports” and “grey” deliveries
The departure of a number of Western manufacturers does not mean that their products cannot be purchased in Russia. A year after the Coca-Cola Company’s decision to suspend operations in Russia, the original drink remains one of the sales leaders among cola-flavored drinks (data son RBC). There is no official permission for the parallel import of this product, but the drink can be imported into Russia from other countries, including Kazakhstan, Hungary and even Afghanistan and Iran, as writing News.ru. In addition to the original soda, in 2022 they began to produce analogues – for example, Dobry Cola produced in Russia.
In addition to the “grey” supplies, the Russian authorities legalized and “parallel imports” for certain categories of goods or specific branded products that cannot be sourced domestically due to Western sanctions. For example, in March 2023, the Ministry of Industry and Trade included IKEA products, Lancôme cosmetics brands, Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent in the new list of goods to be imported parallel. In December, the head of the Federal Customs Service (FCS), Vladimir Bulavin, said that the volume of parallel imports to Russia outmoded $20 billion
Russian media spoke about parallel imports with Anatoly Semyonov, director of the Association of Parallel Imports and deputy chairman of the Committee for Intellectual Property and Creative Industries of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
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