Russian business under economic sanctions: is there evidence of regional heterogeneity?

Sanctions against Russia, beginning in early 2014, provide us with a unique opportunity to study whether, and how, sanctions affect a territorially-vast global power. This study empirically examines the economic impact of these sanctions, paying particular attention to the existence or nonexistence of its regional heterogeneity. For these purposes, this study utilises survey data that asked the executive managers of Russian regional companies to assess the impact of sanctions on their management activities in late 2015. There are several key findings. First, approximately half of those interviewed perceived the economic sanctions as having a negative impact. Second, no regional variation in the impact of the sanctions could be found. It follows that financial sanctions, aimed at an entire nation, exert a significant and geographically uniform impact. Moreover, even regional businesses near the Asia-Pacific region, holding strong connections with Asian countries, were unable to avoid the impact of sanctions.