These new sanctions target individuals and entities rather than whole countries, in the hope of punishing the true perpetrators and avoiding the incidental suffering of innocent people.
There are unconfirmed reports that Russia has used chemical weapons in Ukraine. Syria’s recent chemical weapons use offers context for understanding this tactic. Chemical weapons terrify civilians.
The McDonald’s flagship restaurant at Pushkinskaya Square – the first one of the chain, opened in the USSR on Jan. 31, 1990 – in central Moscow on March 13, 2022, McDonald’s last day in Russia.
AFP via Getty Images
Those placing their faith in sanctions to turn Russians against the war in Ukraine know little about the country, its history and people, write two scholars who have studied Russian culture.
Russian police have detained thousands of Russians who have taken to the streets to protest the invasion of Ukraine.
AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky
Nayan Shah, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The power of the hunger strike lies in its utter simplicity. Anyone can choose to forego eating, even when living under extremely restricted conditions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stands alone.
Alexey Druzhinin/AFP via Getty Images
The Russian government, under President Vladimir Putin, has stepped up repression at home and aggression abroad in an effort to consolidate power within the country and on the world stage.
Russia’s choice: voters go to the polls to elect the Duma, or parliament.
EPA-EFE/Anatoly Maltsev
Matthew Sussex, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
This could have been a feisty exchange between two adversaries. But the summit was a calm affair, with each side hoping their hostile relationship could be ratcheted down a notch or two.
Police arrest a protester at a Moscow rally in support of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who fell ill while in prison and is now hospitalized.
Alexander Demianchuk\TASS via Getty Images
There’s not much the world can do to stop authoritarian rulers from persecuting their political opponents, as shown by the standoff over Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who is ill and imprisoned.
Supporters of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny rally to protest as their leader remains on hunger strike in a prison hospital.
EPA-EFE/Anatoly Maltsev
The average person is likely to be able to survive on a hunger strike for two months, provided they are drinking water. Here’s how the human body can manage for so long without food.
Russian police officers beat people protesting the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Jan. 23, 2021 in Moscow.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)
And there’s not too much the rest of the world can do to stop them.
At the Rose Monday carnival in Düsseldorf, Germany, on February 15, Vladimir Putin was portrayed in an unfortunate posture in front of Alexei Navalny.
Ina Fassbender/AFP
Can the arrival of a new administration in Washington and the demonstrations in Moscow demanding the release of Alexei Navalny destabilize the strongman of Moscow?
Women form a human chain on Feb. 14 in central Moscow to support jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia Navalnaya and other political prisoners.
Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has proved himself to be a master at summoning citizens to protest government abuses. The very words he chooses to use are part of his power.
Navalny’s jailing could galvanise Russians who want a government no longer characterised by post-imperial nostalgia and a paranoid, siege mentality that constantly fears the West.
Protesters oppose riot police during a rally in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny on January 31, 2021 in Moscow, Russia.
Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images
Poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny didn’t get rid of him. He survived the attack, and now the Kremlin must deal with a reinvigorated reform movement led by Navalny.