Although this magazine has frequently lamented President Trump’s tendency to praise Vladimir Putin and his regime in public, we’ve also applauded the administration for its punitive actions against the Kremlin’s dictator. And we’ve urged the administration to go further by, for instance, listing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism and targeting Putin’s wealthy cronies with Treasury sanctions.
Friday morning brought news that the Treasury Department has expanded sanctions to include seven Russian tycoons, 12 companies owned or controlled by them, 17 high-ranking officials in the regime, a government-owned defense trading company, and that company’s bank. The sanctions are imposed under the authority of the law Congress passed in August of last year, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The 12 tycoons include Kirill Shamalov, Putin’s son-in-law. After Shamalov’s marriage to Putin’s daughter, the Treasury announcement dryly notes, “his fortunes drastically improved”: He is now a major shareholder in Sibur, the Russian state’s oil company. Other figures targeted include money launderers, racketeers, and members or former members of the Russian mafia.
On Twitter, the Russian democracy campaigner Alexy Navalny posted a list of the sanctioned individuals and companies and a note that these same people drank champagne when Trump won the election.
The purpose of these and related sanctions is not to damage the Russian economy, though they may have that short-term effect. The purpose is to encourage the country’s wealthy powerbrokers to separate themselves from Putin. If they cannot enjoy the wealth they’ve amassed in foreign banks while they remain in Russia, they may choose to go elsewhere. Other wealthy players, meanwhile, are likelier to avoid alliances with Putin if they know such an alliance will cut off their access to foreign currency. The goal is not to cripple Russia’s economy but to shorten Putin’s reign.
Word also came Friday morning that Sergei Skripal, the ex-Russian spy Putin’s regime attempted to murder in London by exposing him to a nerve agent, is responding well to treatment and improving rapidly. His daughter, Yulia, who was also affected, is conscious and also improving. It’s terrific news—and a nicely timed reminder of just what sort of regime we’re dealing with.
