IMF Says Western Sanctions Could Cut 9% off Russia's GDP

[Little Tich]

Source: Voice of America

Moscow- Sanctions linked to the Ukraine crisis could end up costing Russia 9 percent of its gross domestic product, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. Russia's economy is showing signs of stabilization after slumping under pressure from Western financial sanctions and Russian counter-measures.

Low international prices for its oil exports have added to pressure on the ruble and government finances.

"The effects of sanctions in terms of external access to financial markets and new investment technology will linger," the Fund said, summing up the findings of a mission in May.

Last year Western countries imposed restrictions that limit international financing for major Russian banks and energy companies, and also high-tech exports to the energy sector. Russia retaliated by banning imports of most Western food products.

Read more: http://www.voanews.com/content/reu-imf-says-western-sanctions-could-cut-9-percent-off-russias-gdp/2896580.html

[newthinking]

1. They countersanctioned again. Further restricting meat and produce trade.

What is happening is Russia is not generally going without: They are instead shifting to imports from other areas like South America.

We also get a fair amount of our produce and meat from South America. So we will likely end up seeing inflation in groceries on our side as well when lower priced goods are snapped up.

[elias49]

2. This is all so screwed up

because the people that suffer are Boris and John. Going to work every day. Raising families. Trying to have a life, while the PTB play these fucking games of international one-upsmanship.
I just hate it.

[Adrahil]

8. What's your suggestion? nt

[elias49]

10. Everybody needs to grow up.

I'm personally sick of man's inhumanity to man.
The big guys scheme and the little guys suffer.
You want to be party to that?

[Adrahil]

11. Hey, that's great. Sounds like an executable plan.

Seriously, I am sympathetic to your frustration. But here in the real world, that is just not going to suddenly happen.

KGB Agent Putin wants a Russian Empire back, and he will hurt a lot of people to get it. We probably can't stop him, short of a war, but we can try to slow him down enough that his ambition collapses in on itself.

If the Russian people want a change, they need to make that change. Right now, they appear to love their fascist leader.

[Demeter]

3. This is so misguided

Russia is becoming more and more independent of Europe and America....and there's a lot of world that isn't Europe and America. Furthermore, the rest of the world isn't in a financial death spiral, like America and Europe. The rest of the world is more than willing to tell the West to take a flying leap off a cliff.

Cutting off one's nose to spite the Other fellow's face.

The banksters will not be bringing Russia to heel, just as they haven't the last 3 times they tried. Get a clue, Blankfein! Soros! Dimon!

[Adrahil]

9. Man. You could write Putin's speeches.... Nt

[pscot]

4. why would we want to do this?

[MattSh]

6. Wolfowitz Doctrine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wolfowitz, a Republican, of course!

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wolfowitz Doctrine is an unofficial name given to the initial version of the Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994–99 fiscal years (dated February 18, 1992) authored by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz and his deputy Scooter Libby. Not intended for public release, it was leaked to the New York Times on March 7, 1992,[1] and sparked a public controversy about U.S. foreign and defense policy. The document was widely criticized as imperialist as the document outlined a policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive military action to suppress potential threats from other nations and prevent any other nation from rising to superpower status.

Such was the outcry that the document was hastily re-written under the close supervision of U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell before being officially released on April 16, 1992. Many of its tenets re-emerged in the Bush Doctrine,[2] which was described by Senator Edward M. Kennedy as "a call for 21st century American imperialism that no other nation can or should accept."[3]

Although Wolfowitz was ultimately responsible for the Defense Planning Guidance, as it was released through his office and was reflective of his overall outlook, he did not participate in its drafting, nor saw it before it was publicly released.[4] The task of preparing the document fell to Libby, who delegated the process of writing the new strategy to Zalmay Khalizad, a member of Libby's staff and longtime aide to Wolfowitz. In the initial phase of drafting the document, Khalizad solicited the opinions of a wide cross-section of Pentagon insiders and outsiders, including Andrew Marshall, Richard Perle, and Wolfowitz's University of Chicago mentor, the nuclear strategist Albert Wohlstetter.[5] Completing the draft in March of 1992, Khalizad requested permission from Libby to circulate it to other officials within the Pentagon. Libby assented and within three days Khalizad's draft was released to the New York Times by "an official who believ[ed] this post-cold war strategy debate should be carried out in the public domain." [6]

Complete story at - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfowitz_Doctrine

[freshwest]

5. Wasn't their BRIC supposed to make them independent of Western creditors?

Thought they'd give the Western system (IMF, World Bank, etc.) the third finger and forget it. A few posts at DU bragged about it a while back.

[MattSh]

7. Oooh, Voice of America...

A really, truly, unbiased source that one is.