The Latin word “sanctio” originally meant “a decision made by clergy” and later referred to any punishment administered on wrongdoers. Today we are interested in the international sanctions that nations impose upon each other.

Sanctions were imposed upon Germany after the World War I, upon North Korea for conducting nuclear tests or upon Belarus for President Lukashenko’s repressions. Those measures don’t always work as intended: no nation is a single entity with a common will but sanctions become a unifying factor and help authorities persuade the people that it’s time for them to join together against the common threat.

So are sanctions ineffective? How exactly do they affect Putin’s regime, his friends and “walking wallets”? What sanctions could benefit an average #Russian citizen? Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the cats are explaining!