The EU’s sorry excuse for sanctions won’t change Putin’s ways

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been poisoned and then sentenced to two and a half years in prison. But never mind, the European Union is on the case and has decided to impose sanctions. Just not that many.

There are apparently just four officials on the list: Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee, which tackles major crimes; Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the Federal Prison Service; prosecutor-general Igor Krasnov; and Viktor Zolotov, the much-feared commander of the National Guard.

There is, to be sure, some rationale. Bastrykin, under British sanctions since July, was a key figure in pushing trumped-up charges against Navalny. Kalashnikov was responsible for Navalny being jailed for ‘breaching parole’ while in Germany, where he was recovering from being poisoned. Thuggish Zolotov, who once challenged Navalny to a duel and threatened to turn him into ‘mincemeat,’ heads the force that spearheaded the suppression of protesters this past month.

Yet Krasnov, who admittedly would have OKed the prosecution, not just of Navalny but of many of his supporters, has a pretty good reputation amongst Russian law enforcers.