Economic Complexity as a Strategy to Mitigate the Impact of Sanctions: A Case Study of Russia (2000–2022)

Document Type : Research

Authors

1 Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

3 Master's student at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

Abstract

Russia is one of the countries that have been targeted by multilateral sanctions since 2014, which has disrupted exports of the country's most important product, but a Russian trade balance has suggested that its actions have been effective in reducing the impact of sanctions. One of the most important ways to reduce the impact of sanctions is to produce products that, in addition to restricting production by others, have many consumers, a topic that has been considered under the concept and theory of economic complexity. So the question has been raised how the boycott has had on Russian trade exchanges? And how much has Russia's economic complexity index affected the impact of sanctions? The answer to the question, which is the hypothesis of the research, is that focusing on exporting highly complex products has led Russia to reduce the impact of successful sanctions. The research method is time series, and trade exchanges from 2000 to 2022 have been studied. The findings suggest that although sanctions have been reduced by Russian trade since 2014, the replacement of highly complex commercial products has promoted Russian exchanges since 2018. Although energy exports remain the most important source of revenue for Russia, the emphasis on technology in other products has led to new business partners as an alternative to reducing energy exports from Russian trade.

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International Political Economy Studies
Volume 8, Issue 2
March 2026
Pages 21-42

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History

  • Receive Date: 19 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 26 May 2025
  • Accept Date: 08 September 2025

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