Entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska believes that Russia has weathered the pressure of Western sanctions and survived the effort to isolate its economy. He also called sanctions a 19th century tool that has had no effect.
The Rusal founder said he had always had doubts about this Wunderwaffe (wonder-weapon) – “weaponizing the financial system” to use it as a negotiating tool.
The businessman believes that Russia has withstood the pressure of Western sanctions and survived the attempt to isolate it by developing trade ties with the global south and increasing investment in domestic industries. He noted that private businesses, contrary to his estimation, have shown quite enough flexibility and found a way to operate in this context and to do so successfully.
“Ironically, the part of the sanctions that prevents capital outflow from Russia (including human capital), if anything, increases the Russian economy’s resilience to external shocks,” stressed economist Sergei Khestanov, Associate Professor at RANEPA.