A new digital portal launched today provides a comprehensive, research-driven overview of the effect of international sanctions imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Designed to help policymakers, researchers, journalists, and the public navigate the complexities of economic sanctions and their consequences, the portal offers a data-rich, systematic examination of one of the most significant tools in modern geopolitics.

Developed by experts in international economics and political science, the portal includes three flagship features:

• A detailed timeline of Western sanctions against Russia—and the Kremlin’s countersanctions in response.
• A curated library of research papers and analysis, evaluating the economic, political, and social effects of sanctions.
• A sanctions compliance index and map, ranking countries from 0–100 on their alignment with the Western-led sanctions regime (to be launched later this year).

“Understanding the effects of sanctions is essential for developing effective policy,” says Maria Perrotta Berlin, assistant professor at the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE) at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), and project lead. “But simplistic narratives—like whether sanctions ‘work’—miss the point. This portal is about unpacking how they work, what they affect, and ways they can be improved.”

As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, the international community faces critical questions: Are sanctions reducing Russia’s capacity to wage war? Is support for enforcement eroding? And how can these measures be improved to serve strategic goals without backfiring?

The portal offers nuanced answers to questions like these by exploring the real effects of restrictions in areas such as Russian oil and gas exports, military production, financial integration, and long-term impacts on Russia’s energy infrastructure and global influence.

It also sheds light on sanctions evasion tactics, the role of private companies, and the geopolitical reconfiguration driven by shifting trade alliances especially in Eurasia.

Measurable blows to Russia’s economic and military strength

The research unveils clear blows to Russia’s economic and military capabilities. Western sanctions have significantly reduced Russia’s oil income, with the EU and G7 price cap of $60 per barrel estimated to cut revenues by $5 billion to $10 billion per month. While Russia uses shadow fleets and price manipulation to evade some restrictions, the financial impact remains substantial.

Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe have declined sharply, with the EU replacing some of it with a 60 percent increase in LNG imports from 2021 to 2022, primarily from the U.S., Qatar, and Australia. The shift has weakened Russia’s leverage and slashed a key revenue stream.

Sanctions have also disrupted Russian military production. Western components remain critical to many weapons systems, and substitution has proven difficult, highlighting a key vulnerability in Russia’s supply chain that could be exploited with stricter circumvention enforcement.

Financially, Russia has been cut off from global systems like SWIFT and lost access to central bank reserves. This has led to capital controls, a drop in cross-border transactions, and significant hinders to commerce with international partners. It has also increased Russia’s reliance on informal or alternative financial systems.

Key for a fact-based narrative

“Our analysis shows clear and measurable effects from sanctions on Russia’s economic and military capabilities—and areas for improvement,” says Torbjörn Becker, director of SITE at SSE, and contributor to the project. “It’s important to rigorously assess and communicate these effects to sustain the political will to uphold international norms and to avoid the pitfalls of propaganda and misinformation.”

The portal will be updated with additional features including a compliance index, still under development, that will assess national capabilities and efforts to support sanctions enforcement across three pillars: legal frameworks, government enforcement, and corporate compliance.

The portal has been developed by researchers at the Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics at Stockholm School of Economics, in cooperation with among others the Finnish think-tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the KSE Institute at the Kyiv School of Economics, and the Norwegian consultancy firm Corisk, with support from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Explore the portal: www.sanctionsrussia.org