Economic Alliances A Major Driver of Reactions to Russia
As trade restrictions escalate between Russia and the U.S. and its European allies over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, former Soviet states are weighing the economic impact of picking sides.
Updated Aug. 12, 2014
Dependence on Russia
Russia is still a significant trade partner for many former Soviet bloc nations, with seven regional neighbors relying on Russia for more than 20 percent of their total imports and exports. Eastern European nations with greater economic ties to Moscow, such as Belarus which depends on Russia for 52 percent of its global trade, remain outside the group of countries that impose sanctions on Russia following its intervention in Ukraine.
Reactions to Putin Mirror Economic Alliances
The U.S. and European Union nations have had sanctions in place against Russia since March of this year following the annexation of Crimea. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan make up the newly formed Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which officially goes into effect in 2015. None of the EEU members, or any of the three additional countries considering joining the EEU, have imposed sanctions on Russia.
Source: Bloomberg News reporting
GRAPHIC: DAVID INGOLD / BLOOMBERG VISUAL DATA; Zulfugar Agayev, Ilya Arkhipov, Edith Balazs, Dorota Bartyzel, Helena Bedwell, Kateryna Choursina, Aaron Eglitis, Gordana Filipovic, Nariman Gizitdinov, Sara Khojoyan, Elizabeth Konstantinova, Aliaksandr Kudrytski, Andrew Langley, Lenka Ponikelska, Milda Seputyte, Andra Timu and Ott Ummelas / Bloomberg News