Never has a major world economy been handcuffed by the kinds of financial restrictions that have been imposed on Russia, said Patricia Cohen and Jeanna Smialek in The New York Times. Just days after Ukraine was invaded, its Western allies "froze hundreds of billions of dollars of Russian assets held in their own financial institutions; removed Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system; and made foreign investment in the country exceedingly difficult, if not impossible." The Russian ruble sank to a record low while Russian stocks on the London exchange lost more than 90 percent of their value last week. Russia has learned that "autonomy is a myth in a modern globalized world." However, "the West's overwhelming control could encourage other nations to create alternative financial systems" that can resist future sanctions.
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