Russia and the US have hit out at each other with domestic legislation penalizing the other's citizens. President Obama signed the Magnitsky Act blacklisting Russian officials over human rights abuses, and Russia responded with an "anti-Magnitsky" law mirroring the sanctions and banning US adoptions of Russian orphans. While Russia's response was largely symbolic, both sides are adding more names to their blacklists, worsening relations between the countries and leading some to warn of a new Cold War.

1. The Crown Capital
Management
International Relations
A troubled relationship
frays further

2. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Russia‟s President Vladimir
Putin in a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit, Monday, June 18,
2012, in Los Cabos, Mexico.

3. Driven by political one-upmanship at home, Russia and the
U.S. are hitting out at each other with domestic legislation
For Russia and the United States, this year began with a new
row that revived the atmosphere of a Cold War and deepened
the political crisis in Russia.
As 2012 drew to a close the two countries adopted legislation
penalising each other for alleged human rights abuses.
Shortly before the New Year, U.S. President Barack Obama
signed into law a bill that blacklists Russian officials allegedly
implicated in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and
in other “gross violations of human rights.” The 37-year-old
lawyer, in 2009, died in a Russian prison where he was sent to
by some Interior Ministry officials after blowing the whistle on
their multi-million tax scam.

4. Russia hit back by adopting an “anti-Magnitsky” law that not
only mirrored American sanctions but also banned U.S.
adoptions of Russian orphans. It is for the first time in the
history of their relations that Russia/the Soviet Union and the
U.S. have resorted to blacklisting each other‟s citizens on the
basis of their human rights record.
In the opinion of Russia‟s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov,
the Magnitsky Act was a Republican conspiracy to destroy
Mr. Obama‟s “reset” policy of constructively engaging
Russia. The U.S. Congress adopted the Magnitsky Act on the
same day it finally repealed the four decades-old Jackson-
Vanik amendment, which required Russia to undergo every
year a humiliating certification of its human rights record to
qualify for normal trade relations with the U.S.

5. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the U.S. move a
“slap” in Russia‟s face.
“Why does one country feel entitled to extend its
jurisdiction to the entire world? This undermines the
fundamental principles of international law,” he told a press
conference last month.
Americans, who “keep people jailed for years without being
charged” at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo and who “have
legalised torture in their own country,” have no business
lecturing Russia on human rights, the Russian leader said.

6. LEAVING THE DOOR AJAR
Despite Russia‟s anger, its response to the Magnitsky Act was largely a
symbolic gesture that did not really hurt U.S. interests. Hardly any American
officials will be harmed by not being able to travel to Russia or keep their
money in a Russian bank. Analysts were quick to note that if Mr. Putin really
wanted to hit the U.S. where it hurts he could have imposed restrictions on
American companies in Russia or shut off U.S. logistics lifelines to
Afghanistan that run through Russia. By sparing U.S. interests, Mr. Putin sent
a signal that Moscow is still open to doing business with Washington.
However, the U.S. sanctions and the Russian retaliation badly poisoned the air
between the two countries. Both sides promised to keep adding new names to
their blacklists of persona non grata.
“The „reset‟ is unravelling at the seams,” said political scientist Boris
Shmelyov. “The two countries are a step or two away from a new round of the
Cold War.”

7. ADOPTIONS AND PUTIN’S IMAGE
The ban on American adoptions of Russian orphans, especially
children with disabilities, hardened Mr. Putin‟s image in the West as a
cruel and vindictive autocrat, who used children as hostages in his
political disputes with Washington. Critics said that for tens of
thousands of Russian disabled orphans, foreign adoption was the only
chance to find a family. Russians almost never adopt such children as
they need expensive treatment and rehabilitation that are not available
in Russia for free. Children with serious health problems accounted for
a fair share of more than 60,000 Russian orphans adopted by
Americans over the past two decades.
Mr. Obama will now come under increased pressure from the Congress
to put human rights at the top of his Russia agenda. Several European
countries are weighing the option of adopting their versions of the
Magnitsky Act.

8. While the Magnitsky Act was driven by U.S. political battles, the “anti-
Magnitsky” law had more to do with Russian domestic politics than with
foreign policy. Apart from outlawing U.S. adoptions, the Bill allows
Russian authorities to ban “politically-active” non-governmental
organisations (NGO) that receive American funds or engage in activities
that “represent a threat to the interests of the Russian Federation.” It also
bars Russians who also have dual Russian-American citizenship from
participating in political NGOs. Mr. Putin thereby sought to kill two birds
with one stone: strike a blow against his foes and boost popularity among
his conservative constituency by stoking anti-Americanism. In a recent
poll, more than 75 per cent of Russians said that they supported the ban on
American adoptions of Russian orphans.
At the same time the adoption ban met with indignation among the more
enlightened middle classes and reignited urban protests that were sparked
by Mr. Putin‟s decision to reclaim the presidency last year. Up to 30,000
demonstrators marched through central Moscow earlier this month
denouncing the ban as “cannibalistic” and branding its advocates
“scoundrels.”

9. ATTEMPT AT CONSOLIDATION
Analysts said Mr. Putin is trying to firm up his grip on power by pitting the
conservative working class provinces susceptible to manipulation by state-
run television against the increasingly Opposition-minded big cities.
The Kremlin “hopes to consolidate sections of society on the issue of
foreign encroachment on Russia‟s sovereignty,” said analyst Dmitry
Oreshkin. “The Kremlin narrative is: „there are enemies all around, so we
must rally around our leader‟.”
However, Mr. Putin‟s tactic had a bad downside: it provoked a split in the
Russian elites. For the first time in recent history, several senior ministers,
including a Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, registered
their opposition to the orphan adoption ban on the grounds that it violated
Russian and international legislation. The disagreement was apparently not
serious enough for any of the ministers to resign, but it may be just the tip
of an iceberg.

10. One section of the elite — modernisers — favour liberalisation and
foreign investment to speed up growth¸ while the other more conservative
section, dominated by security cadres, fear that greater openness to the
world would undermine their positions in power and therefore advocate
tightening the screws on the Opposition and building new walls between
Russia and the West.
“The conflict that has long been brewing in society has now spilt over to
the ruling elite, which until a few months ago was united,” said
billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who last year ran for President and set up
his own party, Civil Platform.
Mr. Putin, who had long played the role of above-the-fight arbiter for
rival power groups, is now seen to have joined the conservatives. Experts
said his demonstrative refusal to investigate and prosecute the officials
blamed for Magnitsky‟s death showed how much he treasures the support
of security clans, while the adoption ban demonstrated how little he cares
for his international reputation and Russia‟s relations with the West.
The “anti-Magnitsky” law “is a catastrophe for Mr. Putin. The road taken
by the Kremlin will soon lead to a real crisis of his legitimacy,” said Gleb
Pavlovsky, a former Kremlin PR strategist.