Does the Currency Crisis Veil the Impact of Economic Sanctions under an Authoritarian Regime? An Inquiry into Russia

This paper examines the concurrent shocks of the sanctions and the currency crisis on the Russian economy. It focuses on the commonalities and differences in the impact transmission channels and their interrelationship. The analyses using enterprise interview surveys revealed that the sanctions produced sufficient perceivable business damage that spread through restricted financing. Their negative impact was catalyzed by the currency crisis. These findings show that the impact of the sanctions cannot be hidden from corporate managers even at the height of the harsh currency crisis, possibly undermining the citizens’ support for the authoritarian regime.