Sanctions against Russia
7 Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 March 2023
1 The UK sanctions regime prior to 2022
Sanctions are considered a useful foreign policy tool. They are restrictive
measures, intended to be temporary, that can be used to force a change in
behaviour, constrain a country's actions or to communicate a political
message to other countries and individuals.
While the UK can impose its own sanctions, coordination is often sought with
allies, particularly the EU and US, to achieve maximum effect. Under
international law, the UK is also obliged to implement United Nations (UN)
sanctions when they are imposed.
The UK has over 35 thematic and country-specific sanctions regimes in place
under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, of which the Russia
regime is one of them.
Individuals and entities subject to UK sanctions under these regimes are listed
in the consolidated UK Sanctions List.
1
Russia: Financial and trade sanctions
Prior to the designations announced in February 2022, 183 individuals and 53
entities were already subject to UK financial sanctions under the Russia
sanctions regime.
2
The regime was imposed in a coordinated move by the EU, US, UK and other
Western allies such as Canada (PDF) in reaction to the annexation of Crimea
in 2014 and the ongoing destabilisation of Ukraine. The sanctions consist of
targeted sanctions against individuals and entities (PDF), including asset
freezes and travel bans, and measures to prevent access to capital markets
for Russian-owned financial institutions. They also include an arms embargo
and restrictions on other trade, such as on the export to Russia of technology
needed for oil exploration. The third set of sanctions banned investment in,
and trade with, Crimea.
The sanctions represented a coordinated response by Western allies, but they
are not backed by a UN Security Council resolution because Russia, as a
permanent member of the Security Council, would have used its veto to block
them.
1
The UK sanctions list is also searchable via HM Treasury's Office of Financial Sanctions
Implementation.
2
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List
