They are the main tool to avoid military intervention while enforcing international law. Typical examples of sanctions include freezing bank accounts, suspending travel visas, banning exported goods or cutting off payment flows. States and institutions such as the European Union or the United Nations use sanctions to push other countries to comply with international law. In the case of Russia, sanctions are intended to persuade Vladimir Putin to end the attacks on Ukraine.

It depends. So far, the economic boycott of Russia has not pushed Putin to concede. Sanctions can be successful when they affect large parts of the economy and influential players – such as Putin’s entourage. One thing is for certain: Comprehensive sanctions in the financial sector, particularly those on large private banks, the Russian Central Bank and the SWIFT payment system, will exert a lot of pressure.

Still, there are many loopholes when it comes to sanctions. For instance, a company subject to an embargo in one country can continue exporting goods to others. Subsidiary companies can be set up to disguise trade flows. Timing also plays an important role: If a country hesitates too long when deciding on sanctions, companies and individuals can transfer their money and financial assets elsewhere.

Sanctions are often criticized for being ineffective. Private individuals in particular can redistribute their assets or move them via shell companies, making it difficult for the boycott to be enforced. In the case of private firms, sanctions can rarely be imposed on corporate affiliates globally. Effectively, large companies facing sanctions can still do business.

Another common objection against embargoes is that they greatly affect the lives of civilians not responsible for the war. People cannot withdraw money, do not have access to certain goods, and their jobs are also at risk.

As of now, Putin continues to send troops to Ukraine despite the economic measures against his regime.

Bans on exported goods can apply to specific products, individual companies or to entire sectors of the economy. Currently, the U.S. and EU are making efforts to curb the export of technology to Russia. Blocking the supply chain would severely impact the Russian economy, especially the production of computers and medical equipment. The Russian population would also be directly affected.

Such bans could also have drastic consequences on spare aircraft parts. In this case, planes from Western manufacturers would have to be grounded.

At the start of the Crimean crisis, Russia used similar sanctions to ensure that Russian goods could no longer be sold to certain countries.

Exclusion from the SWIFT payments system will directly affect the Russian economy. SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a system that allows international banks to communicate and facilitate global money transfers. Cutting Russia off from SWIFT means that financial transactions can no longer take place through regular channels, forcing the country to look for alternatives for financing its global trades. Payments for energy supplies are so far exempt from the embargo.

The people, companies and assets subject to embargoes by governments and institutions throughout the world are made public through the so-called sanctions lists. These are issued by the countries and institutions imposing sanctions. Boycott measures target people who support the invasion of Ukraine politically, financially or militarily. These include members of the Duma, weapons manufacturers, and high-ranking military officers. Vladimir Putin is on the sanctions list, as well as the heads of the TV broadcaster Russia Today and the oligarch Igor Setchin.

In addition, Russian banks and companies are also subject to boycotts with the aim of damaging Russia’s economy. The latest goal is to restrict Putin’s ability to finance the war. The most notable of the targeted companies are Sber Bank, Russia’s main financial institution, and the Russian Central Bank.

In contrast to in 2014, when Putin responded to sanctions by quickly banning the import of certain food items, a far-reaching countermeasure is still pending. His main answer to sanctions thus far has been via military action. In response to boycott measures taken by Germany and Great Britain, the Russian president has also barred aircrafts from both countries from Russian airspace.

He also recently announced that Russia’s nuclear forces would be put on high alert.

Germany is legally bound by embargoes imposed by the United Nations or the EU, and of course those imposed by the German government. However, even if the sanctions were decided by any of the international institutions mentioned above, Germany is ultimately responsible for implementing them. For example, if a sanction involves freezing bank accounts, the German Bundesbank has a duty to comply. German companies must also be careful not to trade with companies subject to embargoes. Anyone who violates the boycott may be committing an administrative or a criminal offense. Three agencies are responsible for monitoring possible embargo violations and acting accordingly: The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control, the customs authority and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority. The last of the three, also known as BaFin, has announced that it will intensify its controls.

Due to the close economic and political ties between Germany and Russia, it is almost inevitable that an embargo against Russia will also have an impact on Germany. This primarily affects oil and gas supplies from Russia, which account for a high proportion of German fossil fuel imports. If Russian gas and oil companies were to be sanctioned, it would also increase the price of the energy bill for German consumers.