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Russian expert comments on US ‘Kremlin List’

The so-called ‘Kremlin List’ contains 210 names, including 114 Russian officials, businesspeople and CEOs of government-backed companies

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. The so-called Kremlin Report of the US Department of the Treasury is meant to exert political pressure on Russia’s leadership, a Russian political analyst said on Tuesday.

"By issuing the Kremlin Report, the United States one again tried to exert political and psychological pressure on the Russian leadership, to make the elite feel nervous and insecure," said Sergei Mikhailov of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, a thinktank. "It is a result of the large-scale hysteria whipped up in the United States around Russia’s alleged interference into elections when all of Washington’s political systems are seeking to blame all the mistakes on the Kremlin’s machinations."

According to the expert, the United States’ sanction activities are unlikely to pay off. "It is na·ve to think that their lists are capable of changing anything. This approach is just an attempt to demonstrate the position of force. The list was, to a larger extent, drawn up formally as it features the names of businessmen who are in conflict with the Russian authorities," he said.

In his words, sanctions can reach a desired effect when they are imposed by at least several leading countries. "That is why the United States is seeking to have as much as possible countries join the anti-Russian sanctions," Mikhailov noted. "I don’t think that sanctions serving immediate political goals would be backed by the US’ allies, even rather close ones, as they have already got tired of the endless sanction war."

The US Department of the Treasury on Monday released an open version of the so-called Kremlin List that includes all members of the Russian government, along with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, chiefs of the presidential administration, heads of some state corporations and state banks, as well as businessmen which have, according to American sources, no less than $1 bln.

The list in total includes 210 people. It is divided into several parts: the presidential administration, the cabinet of ministers, political leaders and oligarchs. It also contains a classified annex with additional information. Those on the secret roster may have a lower rank or have property worth less than $1 bln, the Department of Treasury noted.

The specified list is not a sanctions list, according to the Department of Treasury, and no restrictions have been imposed automatically against those on the roster.