Name? Alexander Bortnikov
Westphalian identity? Russian
Age? 69
Why is he in the news? As Director of the F.S.B (formerly known as KGB, Russia’s intelligence Service), Bortnikov has been the target of American sanctions against the Russian government’s involvement in the poisoning of Aleksei Navalny, resulting in the freezing of Bortnikov’s assets.
Why do we care? Honestly, we don’t care so much about the reasoning behind the sanctions (considering they’re about 6 months late), but simply that they exist. These sanctions are the first to be taken by President Biden since entering office and they note a distinction between his administration and previous ones: Biden will not reset relations with Putin but is willing and ready to face the authoritarian leader.
Why should you care? Well, one of us finds sanctions fun! The other finds them to have little impact on such established leaders such as Putin in Russia as ultimately, they only signal disapproval of actions without expecting much change in behaviour. So unless you’re Bortnikov, you probably only care 1/10.
Who else cares? European leaders. The sanctions taken by the Biden administration closely mirror actions taken by European nations (and Britain) last October and thus, once again emphasize Biden’s hope of strengthening transatlantic relations. But will sanctions against Bortnikov, notably not Putin or other oligarchs in Russia, be enough for Biden to win back his European counterparts?
Any further comments? Two scenarios that may tell us more about the Biden administration’s motivations for sanctions are how it will stand on the situation in Belarus and how it will respond to the SolarWinds cyberattack. Regarding Belarus, will President Biden once again mirror his European besties and refuse to recognize the Belarus election results from last August, introducing greater sanctions? Or will he prioritize a response to the SolarWinds cyberattack in which Russian hackers went deep into nine U.S. government agencies, taking a stronger, solo stance against Russia?
