FX.co ★ Up-to-date crystal gazing: sanctions to be lifted or not?

Earnest optimists still hope that the sanctions will be lifted soon, as they imagine the US and Europe are suffering great losses without the Russian sales market and are likely to beg to change everything back. However, some pragmatists such as the Bank of Russia’s chief Elvira Nabiullina see the things in a more realistic light and believe that the Western sanctions will be extended until 2019 at least.

Let us remind that economic sanctions were imposed after Russia had annexed the Crimean peninsula and supported military actions in Ukraine. The effect of sanctions combined with the fall in world oil prices, which had a great impact on the Russian budget as oil trade is the principal earner for it, caused an economic slump. Recently, the Russian mass media has been reporting that tit-for-tat sanctions are equally harsh for the European businessmen, and any day the Western countries are going to wave the white flag and lift all bans. While propaganda influences the people’s minds, professionals do their work. “Making forecasts, we factor in that the sanctions will remain throughout the three-year period,” Ms Nabiullina said. She thinks that the sanctions will not cause any problems to the trade balance. “Neither the ruble nor inflation will experience any pressure, as the trade balance has been adapted to both the sanctions and low oil prices,” the Bank of Russia’s head added.

So we can say that the Russians have also adapted to the euro costing 74 rubles and the US dollar costing 63 rubles, as well as to fake cheese, low wages and small pension benefits. Thus, if everyone has adapted to the current situation, there is nothing to worry about.