Unfriendly countries list

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   "Unfriendly Countries"

The Unfriendly Countries List (Russian: Список недружественных стран, romanized: Spisok nedruzhestvennykh stran) is a list of countries published by the Russian government for engaging in activities that the government considers to be "unfriendly" to Russia. First established in May 2021 with only two countries named on the list – the United States and the Czech Republic – the list was expanded to 48 countries after those countries imposed sanctions against Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. All 27 European Union member states are on the list.

Countries added to the Unfriendly Countries List are subject to certain restrictions related to their relationships with Russia, including trade and currency restrictions and hiring limits in the listed countries' diplomatic missions in Russia.

List of countries and regions

The Czech Republic and the United States were added to the list in May 2021, while the rest of the countries on the list were added in March 2022.

Albania Andorra Australia Canada Iceland Japan

South Korea Liechtenstein Micronesia Monaco Montenegro New Zealand

North Macedonia Norway San Marino Singapore Switzerland Taiwan

Ukraine United Kingdom United States European Union

Background

In June 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law empowering the government to introduce countermeasures against countries determined to have engaged in "unfriendly" actions against Russia. The countermeasures listed included import and export restrictions, suspension or termination of international cooperation, or privatization of state assets. An announcement on the passage of the legislation published by Russian state media specifically named the United States as the law's target.

In April 2021, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Russia would be publishing an "Unfriendly Countries List" that includes the United States. Early drafts of the list were leaked and included up to ten countries, but the final list issued by Russia only contained two: the United States and the Czech Republic. In publishing the list, the Russian government restricted the Czech embassy in Russia from hiring no more than 19 Russian nationals, and prohibiting the U.S. embassy in Russia from hiring any local employees.

Russia's relations with both countries were at a low point at the time. The United States and Russia had recently expelled each other's diplomats and the United States imposed sanctions against Russia in retaliation for Russian cyberattacks and interference in American elections. Similarly, the Czech Republic accused Russian intelligence officers of being behind two ammunition warehouse explosions inside the country in 2014.

March 2022 expansion

In February 2022, Russia launched a full scale invasion against neighboring Ukraine. Numerous countries around the world began instituting economic sanctions against Russia in retaliation for the invasion with a goal of crippling the Russian economy, in addition to Micronesia's decision to sever diplomatic relations with Russia. In response, Russia expanded the Unfriendly Countries List to include 48 countries around the world that had imposed the sanctions or severed diplomatic relations.

Restrictions against listed countries and regions

The legal basis for instituting sanctions against countries deemed "unfriendly" to Russia was initially passed in June 2018 with a menu of available countermeasures, including import and export restrictions, suspension or termination of international cooperation, or privatization of state assets, but no specific targets were listed. When the United States and the Czech Republic were added to the list in April 2021, Russia restricted the numbers of local employees that could be hired by the two countries' diplomatic missions in Russia. The Czech Republic's embassy could only hire 19 Russian employees, while the United States embassy could not hire any.

In March 2022, in retaliation to sanctions imposed against Russia in response to their invasion of Ukraine, Russia added an additional 48 countries that had imposed sanctions against it to the Unfriendly Countries List. Debtors from countries on the list who sought to receive payments on the debt were required to open a special bank account at a Russian bank to receive payments in Russia's currency, rubles, rather than another international currency. In addition, all new corporate deals between Russian companies and entities in countries on the Unfriendly Countries List had to seek approval from a government commission.

Putin announced several weeks later that Russia would only accept the ruble as payment for Russia's natural gas exports to countries on the Unfriendly Countries List. International sanctions against Russia caused the value of the ruble to plummet, and Putin said that as a result, it "made no sense" to receive payments in other currencies. The European Union, which was added to the list, relies on Russia for 40% of its natural gas imports, and forcing payments in rubles could help to inflate the demand for and value of the currency.

The finance minister of Japan, which was also added to the list, questioned how Russia would implement the rules requiring that it pay in rubles for natural gas imports.

See also

• 2022 boycott of Russia and Belarus
• Reciprocity (international relations)