Russian President Vladimir
Putin gestures after signing a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia
in the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. The crisis over
Crimea is more than a dispute over whether the strategic Black Sea
peninsula should be considered Russian or Ukrainian. At its root is a
deeper issue: Russia’s simmering anger over its treatment by the West
since the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia’s biggest grievance
has been the absorption into the NATO alliance not only of former Soviet
allies, such as Poland and Romania, but also three republics that were
part of the Soviet Union: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The last straw
was a European Union move to draw Ukraine closer to the West through a
political association agreement. That set off a chain of events that led
to the ouster of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president and, ultimately, to
Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Vladimir Putin probably didn’t expect that newly announced Russian sanctions on nine Americans
– three top White House aides, three Republicans and three Democrats in
Congress – would spark a bipartisan love-in in Washington.
But that’s
exactly what happened on Thursday as Moscow retaliated for expanded U.S.
sanctions by freezing the assets of a select handful of high-profile
Americans and banning them from travel inside Russia.
Here’s
an early response from a spokesman for Republican House Speaker John
Boehner on Twitter to Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to President Obama,
for making the list:
Some
of the lawmakers on the list had a quick public reaction to the news
and expressed defiance — which is not hard to do when you likely have
neither assets in Russia nor plans to travel there.
The
other Americans on Russia’s list of people to block included Deputy
National Security Adviser for International Economic Affairs Caroline
Atkinson, Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications
Ben Rhodes, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Republican
Senator Dan Coats of Indiana, and Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of
Louisiana.
“While I’m
disappointed that I won’t be able to go on vacation with my family in
Siberia this summer, I am honored to be on this list," Coats said.
"Putin’s recent aggression is unacceptable, and America must join with
our European allies to isolate and punish Russia. I will continue to
lead efforts on Capitol Hill to bring Putin to his senses.”
“Being
sanctioned by President Putin is a badge of honor,” Landrieu said. “It
will not stop me from using my power as chair of the Energy Committee to
promote America as an energy superpower and help increase energy
exports around the world.
"And it most certainly will not stop me from advocating for orphans in Russia and around the world,” she added.
Coats
and Landrieu are the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
The list appeared to show that Russia agreed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the scheduled Group of Eight summit in Sochi, Russia, was dead. Rhodes, Pfeiffer, and Atkinson would likely have made the trip with Obama.
The
Russian sanctions resembled the first round of American measures
targeting prominent Russians backing Putin’s annexation of Crimea, which
drew a similarly mocking response in Moscow. Russia’s measures did not
affect anyone at the Pentagon, or any businesses with economic interests
in Russia.
But the new round
of American sanctions broadened the field considerably, reaching into
Putin’s inner circle and for the first time affecting an institution, a
bank. Obama further warned that the United States would go after entire
sectors of Russia’s economy if Putin pushes ahead in Ukraine, perhaps by
trying to carve a slice of eastern Ukraine off the rest of the country.
Behind
the scenes, on email and over the telephone, officials in Washington
reacted largely with amusement — and sometimes amused confusion. An aide
to one person on the list, asked why their boss had been included,
laughed and responded: “As soon as you find out, would you call back and
let me know?”
And some
officials expressed mock outrage at being left off the list. Here’s
Michael Mershon, spokesman for Rep. Jim McGovern, D.-Mass., a frequent
and fierce critic of Russia:
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