Robin Brooks, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, took to X recently to declare that "there needs to be a ban on any academic papers that interpret Russiaâs resilient GDP as a sign that sanctions arenât working." I found it remarkable that he should acknowledge the unexpected resilience of Russiaâs economy yet try to disbar analysis which might suggest, therefore, that sanctions had failed.
Brooks produces some interesting analysis, and at the heart of his statement lies an important argument that others have taken up recently: that Western powers didnât impose tough enough sanctions on Russia at the start of the Ukraine crisis, but could still impose such a catastrophic economic cost on Russia that Putin will, for the first time, be forced to back down.
Letâs take a look at what a maximum pressure policy in 2014 might have involved. (...)
Seems like they copied the Africa model and attempted to exploit Russia, which only benefits large US cos and the local "mafia"
can't have well running markets without rule of law and protection of private property.
Asked about the lawsuit during a call with reporters Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov admitted that he âcanât even pronounce this figure rightâ but said that the eye-watering sum was âfilled with symbolism.â Google âshould not be restricting the actions of our broadcasters on its platform,â he added.
CNN has contacted Google for comment. In quarterly earnings published this week, the company referred to âongoing legal mattersâ relating to its business in Russia.
âCivil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed upon us in connection with disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties,â Google said. âWe do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect (on earnings).â
Following Russiaâs full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Google curtailed operations in the country but stopped short of pulling out altogether, in contrast with several other American tech companies. Many of its services, including Search and YouTube, continue to be available in the country.
Months after the invasion, Googleâs Russia subsidiary filed for bankruptcy and paused most of its commercial operations after the government seized control of its bank accounts.
