The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs obsessed with idea how to answer to the new US sanctions. First, the US prohibits access to the capital markets, Russia takes a summer house leased by the U.S. embassy; then the US compiles black lists of corrupt Russian officials, Russia denies access to their warehouse in Moscow. We have a chance to witness a duel of two equal in strength and status rivals.
Another retaliation for the sanctions was the adverse comment of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about a possible refusal of payments in the US dollars. It sounds very menacing but although not quite clear how it will be implemented. Perhaps, all Russian officials will close their accounts in foreign currencies and change their dollars into the rubles or even the Mongolian tughriks out of spite. You never know, the Russian currency reserves can be kept in the Kazakh tenge or the North Korean won. Maybe, the Russian government will ask the population of the country to burn all greenbacks they have. But, as it turned out, the rejection of the dollar is just talk. Behind loud threats there is absolutely harmless intention to reduce dependence on payments in dollars, as well as on the American payment systems.
Given that the leading world economy is not contingent on any economic retaliations from Russia, the Russian government can only respond to the US sanctions in harsh words, not actions.
