Punishing Putin

Undeterred by eight years of US sanctions, Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the hours that followed across the world--the White House, 10 Downing Street, and the European Commission--Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. A plan emerged in the White House, a bold and undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the world into a devastating recession. The end goal was simple: to damage the Russian economy--the eleventh largest on the planet. Here, Russian expert and veteran journalist Stephanie Baker clearly explains in fascinating detail how this furious shadow-war unfolded: its causes, how it is being executed, and its ability to affect Russia and the course of history.

From seizing superyachts to manipulating the global price of oil to trying to block the sale of military technology to Russia, the Biden Administration's efforts to punish Putin have shown a profound willingness to utilize every tool to degrade Russia's economy. We learn how the White House coordinated with top officials in London and Brussels to freeze a staggering $300 billion in foreign currency reserves accumulated in the West by Russia's central bank. Mobilizing an army of white collar-crime investigators and experts on international law, the US and its allies have cracked down on illicit Russian money--targeting oligarchs and their enablers around the world. One superyacht at a time, this team has a vast array of frozen property--assets worth $58 billion--some of which may be ultimately able to provide desperately needed war reparations to Ukraine.

Filled with propulsive, fly-on-the-wall details, Punishing Putin takes us into the frantic backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of carefully calculated "economic statecraft" and shows how these new strategies are already radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today, and for generations to come.