NEW YORK TIMES: When Vladimir V. Putin returned to the Russian presidency in 2012, one of the first messages he sent to his political elite, many of them heads of banks and large corporations, was that the times had changed: Owning assets outside Russia makes you too vulnerable to moves by foreign governments, he told them. It’s time to bring your wealth home…
Anxiety over possible economic fallout has begun to radiate from business circles, and some wondered whether Mr. Putin had been warned clearly about the magnitude of the possible damage to the economy. One analyst described their mind-set as one of “cognitive dissonance.” …
Last week, days after Russia took control of Crimea, the United States announced a modest first round of sanctions and the European Union indicated it would follow suit, with both making it clear that there may be further rounds. Officials have suggested that a range of measures is being considered, leaving open, by implication, the most extreme one: barring Russian companies and banks from access to the Western financial system, similar to sanctions adopted against Iran… (more)
