The Russian Stock Market in the aftermath of Annexation of Crimea and Sanctions

Following the annexation of Crimea Peninsula, the European Union and the United States of America have imposed various sanctions on the Russian Federation. Even though 5-year period has passed since the initial sanctions (first sanction was imposed on March 3, 2014), there is still no consensus impact on the effect of sanctions. This paper assesses the impact of imposed sanctions on the performance of the ten most liquid stocks listed in the Russian stock exchange. The result of the paper shows that despite the growth of the stock price, the sanctions had negative impact on overall growth. Most interestingly, the results of the paper show that sanctions had no impact on firms in oil and gas sector, while having significant negative impact on firms in non-oil and gas sector.