Latest developments in Russian imports of sanctioned technology products

This brief examines the latest developments in Russian imports on the basis of mirror statistics. We focus particularly on technology products subject to export restrictions imposed by sanctioning coalition countries. While most Russian imports of technology products subject to sanctions fell considerably between the first half of 2021 and the first half of 2023, our analysis reveals that the value of certain imported technology products also increased substantially. Exports of these products grew dramatically particularly from Central Asia and Caucasus, but the share of these countries in Russian imports is still moderate. China was by far the most important provider of technology products to Russia in absolute terms during the observation period.

Sisällysluettelo

Abstract....3
1. Introduction....4
2. General development of Russian imports....4
3. Russian imports of sanctioned technology products....5
3.1 Russian imports of most sanctioned goods declined substantially, but with huge variation across goods....6
3.2 China as the big supplier of alternative imports....8
4. Sharp price increases in some Chinese and Turkish exports to Russia....10
4.1 China....11
4.2 Türkiye....12
5. Sanction evasion via CCA countries....13
5.1 High-priority battlefield items....13
5.2 Other dual-use goods....14
6. Concluding remarks....15
References....17