The Russian government has responded to sanctions issued by the United States by taking actions against American politicians and academics as well as members of President Joe Biden’s family.
The news comes four months after Russia invaded Ukraine which sparked international outcry.
“It just goes to show you that the Russian capacity for these kinds of cynical moves is basically bottomless, so it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to any of us that they would do something like this,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said during a press conference on June 28, per Axios.
The 25-person list includes “senators responsible for formulating the Russophobic policy” and “family members of US President Joe Biden.”
Additionally, the Kremlin issued sanctions against members of the “McFaul-Yermak International Expert Group, which drafts recommendations concerning anti-Russia restrictions.”
The McFaul-Yermak International Group recently released a document proposing a strategy to increase pressure on Russia through individual sanctions. The Group created a list of 12,000 individuals and 3,000 legal entities that could be targeted to “increase pressure on the ruling elites of the regime, and thus help end the war against Ukraine,” according to a statement from the Ukrainian government.
“The Western sanctions have caused many international companies to pull out of Russia. Some companies have elected to leave the country on humanitarian grounds. Nearly 1,000 companies have cut off or otherwise limited operations in Russia since the country began its invasion of Ukraine in February,” reports Fox News.
Russia’s bipartisan list of politicians includes Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, Republican Senator Benjamin Sasse of Nebraska, Democrat Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Democrat Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has also been barred from entering the Russian Federation.
Former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour David Kramer and Former chief Russia economist and head of European economics at Morgan Stanley Jacob Nell were both included on the stop list.
Russian Foreign Ministry also took aim at a number of academics, including four staff members at Stanford University – sociology professor Larry Diamond, Program Manager Bronte Kass, adjunct professor Ann Clanan and political science professor Francis Fukuyama.
Christopher Miller, adjunct professor of international history at Tufts University, was also sanctioned by Russia as was Craig Kennedy of Harvard University’s Davis Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies.
Additionally, Jeffery Sonnenfeld, a co-organizer of Economist for Ukraine, and James Hodson, the CEO of the AI for Good Foundation, were included on the new list.
The Kremlin also sanctioned Ashley Biden and her mother, First Lady Jill Biden.
