How effective have Western sanctions on Russia been in achieving their stated
economic and political objectives?

Manvi Singhania

doi:10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.033

Title: How effective have Western sanctions on Russia been in achieving their stated economic and political objectives?
Authors: Manvi Singhania
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research (IJSSER) ISSN: 2455-8834 Volume: 11 Issue: 10 Publication Date: October 2026 DOI: 10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.033
\|\| \|\|
Manvi Singhania KIIT International School
MLA 8 Singhania, Manvi. "How effective have Western sanctions on Russia been in achieving their stated economic and political objectives?" Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 11, no. 10, Oct. 2026, pp. 5938-5954, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.033. Accessed Oct. 2026. APA 6 Singhania, M. (2026, October). How effective have Western sanctions on Russia been in achieving their stated economic and political objectives? Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 11(10), 5938-5954. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.033 Chicago Singhania, Manvi. "How effective have Western sanctions on Russia been in achieving their stated economic and political objectives?" Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 11, no. 10 (October 2026), 5938-5954. Accessed October, 2026. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2026.v11i10.033.
References [1] . Babina, T., Hilgenstock, B., Itskhoki, O., Mironov, M., Ribakova, E. and Shapoval, N. (2026) ‘Russian oil exports under international sanctions’, Energy Economics, 153, 109006. [2] . Crozet, M. and Hinz, J. (2020) ‘Friendly fire: the trade impact of the Russia sanctions and counter-sanctions’, Economic Policy, 35(101), pp. 97–146. [3] . European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) (2023) EU-Russia trade since the start of the war – recoupling for some, expansion for others. [4] . Eurostat (2024) Reduced levels of EU-Russia trade continue. [5] . Gaur, A., Settles, A. and Väätänen, J. (2023) ‘Do economic sanctions work? Evidence from the Russia-Ukraine conflict’, Journal of Management Studies, 60, pp. 1391–1414. [6] . Hausmann, R., Schetter, U. and Yildirim, M.A. (2024) ‘On the design of effective sanctions: the case of bans on exports to Russia’, Economic Policy, 39(117), pp. 109–153. [7] . Hufbauer, G.C., Schott, J.J., Elliott, K.A. and Oegg, B. (2007) Economic sanctions reconsidered. 3rd edn. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics. [8] . Johnson, S., Rachel, L. and Wolfram, C. (2023) ‘Design and implementation of the price cap on Russian oil exports’, Journal of Comparative Economics, 51(4), pp. 1244–1252. [9] . Mahlstein, K., McDaniel, C., Schropp, S. and Tsigas, M. (2022) ‘Estimating the economic effects of sanctions on Russia: an Allied trade embargo’, The World Economy. [10] . Pape, R.A. (1997) ‘Why economic sanctions do not work’, International Security, 22(2), pp. 90–136. [11] . Peksen, D. (2019) ‘When do imposed economic sanctions work? A critical review of the sanctions effectiveness literature’, Defence and Peace Economics, 30(6), pp. 635–647. [12] . Spiro, D., Wachtmeister, H. and Gars, J. (2025) ‘Assessing the impacts of oil sanctions on Russia’, Energy Policy, 206, 114739. [13] . U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2023) Short-Term Energy Outlook: What effect have sanctions had on Russia’s production of petroleum and other liquids? Washington, DC: U.S. Energy Information Administration. [14] . U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (2025) Russia’s oil exports have decreased modestly since 2022, shifting toward Asia. Washington, DC: U.S. Energy Information Administration. [15] . World Bank (2026) World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: World Bank.
ABSTRACT: The study analyzes the effects of economic sanctions by the West against Russia since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. It looks into the issue of sanctions through four main aspects: GDP, trade, fiscal aspects, and the energy sector. Using secondary statistics taken from the World Bank, International Energy Agency, US Energy Information Administration, Eurostat, ECIPE, Argus, Vortexa, Reuters, ORF, and Trackr, graphical methods were employed in order to discover how the performance of Russia’s economy and its external economic relations changed from 2020 to 2025. A simple pre-sanction GDP trend was extrapolated in MS Excel from 2020-2021 values, thus making it possible to provide a simple comparison. The results demonstrate that Russia has suffered from serious economic recession in 2022 which then has been followed by a minor positive economic growth. Trade with the European Union has decreased considerably while the economic relations have expanded with China and India. The volumes of Russian crude oil exports have remained moderately stable while the export destinations have greatly shifted toward Asia and the oil revenue decreased compared to 2022 peak levels. Overall, it can be concluded that the sanctions have applied considerable economic pressure and changed Russia’s trade and energy structure, but did not eliminate its capacity for economic adaptation. The study therefore emphasizes the distinction between economic disruption, resilience, and broader political effectiveness.

IJSSER is Member of