Unprecedented law: protecting the Russian financial system against the impact of sanctions

The subject of this article is the special economic measures adopted by the Russian Federation to counter the sanctions imposed by a number of states (the United States, the United Kingdom, some EU countries) at the beginning of 2022. The article reviews the concept of “economic sanctions” and its main goals. The author analyzes the experience of sanctions against such countries as Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela, including the reasons for imposing restrictions and their economic consequences. Particular attention is paid to the economic measures imposed against Russia and their unprecedented nature. Besides, the main response measures of the Russian Federation are studied. It was proved that despite the negative consequences, the sanctions did not collapse the Russian economy, as predicted by Western leaders. The author makes conclusion concerning effectiveness and timeliness of the taken protective measures. Moreover, it was found that the sanctions led to extremely negative consequences for the financial system of the countries that imposed restrictions contrary to the ideas related to economic efficiency. This indicates the extremely destructive nature of economic sanctions as an instrument of foreign policy and economic influence.