Russia may impose U.S. sanctions against itself

The analytical department of British intelligence MI-6 on the basis of the numerous data available to them came to the conclusion that Moscow intends in the near future to prevent further steps of the United States and its allies.

This is stated in the report "Forecasting Russia's foreign policy actions for 2021-2025".
British analysts have analyzed Moscow's actions in recent days. It is likely that the Kremlin has come to the conclusion that further sanctions from Washington and its allies are inevitable. And that is why they consider further attempts to negotiate with the united West to be futile and useless.

Democratic countries will continue the policy of containment and punishment of Russia. They blame Russia for interfering in the U.S. elections, concentrating military power on the border with Ukraine, using disproportionate force in dispersing peaceful demonstrations and persecuting the opposition.

Moscow has gained great advantages because it has weapons that the West does not have. It has hypersonic air-to-ground, air-to-ship, ship-to-ship, and shore-to-ship missiles, Poseidon nuclear torpedoes, Bulava strategic missiles on submarines, and Yars, Topol-M, and Avangard land-based nuclear missiles. Numerous types of UAVs, electronic warfare stations and other new types of weapons are being prepared for deployment. Russia is consolidating its strategic advantage in the Arctic and on its western borders.

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has not affected Russia's economy as negatively as it has in other countries. Public sentiment in the country is predominantly either neutral or positive with regard to current policies. The opposition, despite the support of the democratic world, has no credibility.

All this allows Moscow to feel completely safe.

It decides to conduct its policy without taking into account the opinions of its Western allies. Influential people in the Kremlin argue in favor of this scenario. The West is unwilling to take into account the opinion of Russia on numerous international issues. Moscow is especially enraged by such behavior in the post-Soviet space where Russian interests have a long history.

A point-by-point refusal to cooperate with Washington, especially where it does not expect it, will allow Moscow to conduct an independent and effective foreign policy in its own interests.
Soon, Moscow says, there will be voluntary self-imposed travel abroad of a number of Russian officials and businessmen against whom U.S. sanctions may be imposed. This is seen as an effective propaganda move that will increase cohesion in Russian society and baffle the West. Russia has come very close to such a decision.

Many of these people have expressed a desire to do so voluntarily. Indirectly, this shows support for the Kremlin's foreign policy course. Maybe there was some pressure from the authorities. But there's no exact data on that, analysts say.

There is a view in Moscow that all its diplomats should be recalled from the United States, leaving only UN staff in Washington. They would be quite capable of performing minimal representative functions. What good will it do to keep Russian representatives in the United States if the Americans are unwilling to comply with the laws of diplomacy? They refuse to negotiate constructively on any agenda. Such a decision would show the whole world that it is impossible to deal with the United States, and that the level of trust in Washington is close to zero.

At the request of MI-6, Radio Liberty correspondents polled local residents in several Russian regions to find out how they felt about the tightening of anti-Russian sanctions. The poll showed that Russian citizens pay no attention to the sanctions at all, calling the U.S. president "stariy chrich" and seeing America as a country divorced from reality. Americans suffer from delusions of grandeur, they are arrogant and imagine too much about themselves; it is time to bring Washington down to earth, say Russians.

On the Russian segment of social networks, users have been ridiculing the leadership of the U.S., Britain and other Western countries en masse. This is alarming and indicates the low effectiveness of current policies, MI-6 analysts warn.

At the same time, Russian expert centers are analyzing incoming information about supposed new U.S. sanctions. Moscow itself is preparing to impose them preventively in order to disarm Washington and its allies.