When I've heard about sanctions against Russia for the first time, I thought it was a joke. Whom are they trying to punish? Will Russian politicians and rich businessmen suffer from it? Or they actually hurt people like me?

I have a lot of brilliant Russian friends abroad, most of them study in prestigious US and European universities, they work for multinational companies and have nothing to do with the recent events in Ukraine. After all, no one asked for their opinion on that matter. What will happen to all of them when the West decides to block Russia from its space? Or when the government would start issuing exit visas for Russian citizens? Everything seems possible now, even the most bizarre laws and proposals.

Then and now

We all remember the Cold War era when the USSR lived in its own bubble and didn't let its citizen travel abroad. Despite the ideological differences, the US sponsored NGOs and media tried to breach the barrier between the countries. What we witness right now is scarier than what was before. Both Western and Russian media tend to broadcast news heavy on propaganda whether they do it deliberately or not.

As a result, some of my friends predict that Fulbright and IREX programs will stop accepting Russian applicants as some employment and training schemes have already become scarce for Russians. I

Sanctioning just for the show

American government had a lot of opportunities to implement sanctions against the corrupt Putin’s regime in the past. Nonetheless, they did nothing when prominent journalists were attacked and killed in Russia. They didn't do much when political activists were jailed and media censorship has spread like a wildfire.

Sanctions were implemented only when Putin decided to take over Crimea. And now all the thieves and liars in Russian government have a legit reason to behave like the country’s ‘saviors’ because the ‘Evil West’ accused and banned them from the Western soil. They can start acting victorious and ultra-nationalistic while the majority of the population likes and supports it. Don’t you guys get it? They are victorious! they see these sanctions as an asset for their political career.

Who’s winning?

My mum always says that you should ‘never wake the sleeping dog’, because it might bite you. If Western politicians think that these ridiculous sanctions will do anything, they are terribly misguided and know nothing about Russian politics.

When Russian establishment hears that the West is trying to threaten them or impose sanctions, they will do things just to make the West angry despite the consequences. As a result, Putin now has a sky rocketed approval rating of 80%.

Big American companies, such as Microsoft, Oracle, Symantec and Hewlett-Packard (HP) decided to join the sanctions campaign against Russian companies. Do you think this will work? Hell, no! Russian parliament is thinking of making a new law that will force Visa, MasterCard, and AmEx out of the country. Who cares about ordinary people, right? It is all about politics and power games.

If all these giant corporations leave Russia, the country will simply be forced to develops its own software and payment systems. It might be a good thing on the long run, however, we no longer live in the Middle Ages when you can simply rely on your own supplies and forces. The country’s economy will enviably crush if these giant companies leave.

In any case, Mr. Putin will continue controlling all the money in the country, as Russian citizens and oligarchs will be forced to keep their assets in Russia. That means that rich people would become even more loyal to the government as they will be afraid to lose all their money and property.

Forget about the ruined country and slow decline of its culture, Putin will be victorious again. Don’t you guys see that? All your sanctions just make Putin stronger in his machist attempt to show everyone that has the biggest balls in the world. It makes me sick.