Putin Seeking to Realign Russian Economy with Counter-Sanctions

By Stephen Levy

Vladimir Putin wants to restructure Russian consumer’s buying habits with his counter-sanctions, Quartz noted in a report on September 12th, not just harm EU and US companies. Putin’s announced sanctions, primarily used cars and clothes, more closely match the industries Putin previously targeted for domestic production than industries that would harm western exporters. As the article notes, the sanctions do not touch new cars, a much larger source of western exports.  As the article hints, though, urban Russians with a taste for western luxuries might not appreciate having to consume solely domestic products.