Smart Sanctions against Russia: Human Rights, Magnitsky and the Ukrainian Crisis

This article examines the emergence of U.S. “smart” sanctions against Russia that have targeted specific citizens and/or companies both for human rights violations and for threatening the peace, security, stability or territorial integrity of Ukraine since 2012. It argues that, while it is too early to determine their full impact, the new sanctions provide potent tools of international statecraft that should be increasingly adopted in U.S. interactions with the Russian Federation.