Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with Vladimir Bogdanov, CEO of Surgutneftegas oil and gas company, during an awards ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 30, 2016. Bogdanov is one of the oligarchs hit by the latest U.S. sanctions.
The United States is tightening the economic screws on Russia. On April 6, the U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions on seven oligarchs, 12 oligarch-owned companies, 17 senior government officials, one state-owned defense firm and one bank in Russia. The sanctioned parties — which the United States claims benefited from or contributed to Russia's activities abroad, including its involvement in foreign conflicts and political affairs — will lose access to their U.S. assets starting in June. They also will lose the ability to travel to the United States and to do business with U.S. citizens. The Russian economy as a whole, however, won't feel much pressure — at least not right away. Moscow has had time to adjust to and anticipate economic restrictions in the four years since the European Union and United States first imposed sanctions.
