Impact and Effectiveness of Sanctions: The Case of EU Sanction on Russia

With the breaking out of Ukraine crisis, a new chapter opened in relations between the West and Russia. The annexation of the Crimean Peninsula to the Russian Federation prompted severe reactions by Western countries, so that for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the EU imposed heavy sanctions on this country. This article aims at exploring the impact of sanctions regime on the EU and its effectiveness in regard to the Russian Federation.The main question is about the impact and effectiveness of sanction. In answering these questions, the hypothesis advanced is that sanctions regime has many consequerces for implementing countries and also for the target country. To study these consequences, the impact and effectiveness of sanctions should be distinguished from each other. As for the implementing countries, the impact of sanctions should be addressed, but for the target countries, the important point is the effectiveness of sanctions. Regarding the EU imposed sanctions on Russia, it should be noted that the costs of this policy would be high for both sides and especially for the EU.