Tabea Böing ist Masterstudentin im Studiengang Russische, Eurasische und Osteuropäische Studien an der Universität Helsinki und ehemalige Praktikantin im PATTERN-Projekt. // Tabea Böing is a Master’s student in the study programme Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European studies at University of Helsinki and a former intern in the PATTERN project.
Isolating Russia is a key element of the West’s response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. However, this strategy has only been partially successful. After more than two years of fighting, Russia has found ways to circumvent economic sanctions and political exclusion. This year’s BRICS+ summit, to be held in Kazan in October, is likely to illustrate this development. Russia will host a summit of the highest political and economic importance, bringing together leading powers from different regions of the world. This Spotlight unpacks and evaluates the effectiveness of Russia’s efforts to counter Western isolationist strategies by using soft power initiatives in the areas of fashion and sport in the run-up to the summit.
On May 17th, 2024, the European Council adopted a new package of EU sanctions directed against Russia, suspending the broadcasting activities of four major pro-Russian media outlets in Europe. Since the sanctioned platforms have been heavily involved in the spread of disinformation surrounding Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the ban of these outlets seems like an obvious and necessary step. However, given how easily Russian actors have been able to circumvent the blocking of media outlets, the question arises as to how effective the sanctions actually are.
