What will Russia’s economic isolation from the west mean in practice?

There will be a tough adjustment in the months ahead, but the world can get along without Russia, writes Hamish McRae

Western corporations will find that they are under increasing pressure to avoid any investments that involve Russia (EPA)

The Russian economy is going to be largely cut off from the west until there is a change of regime in Moscow. We cannot know what will happen in Ukraine itself, but it is hard to see any outcome that will be acceptable to the west.

This means that the sanctions currently imposed could last for years. Western corporations will find that they are under increasing pressure to avoid any investments that involve Russia. Trade will be severely limited, as it was during the Cold War, between the end of the Second World War and the fall of the Berlin Wall, with importers of Russian produce – including oil and gas – seeking other sources of supply.

Exports of western technology will be blocked, and it is quite possible that consumer and investor pressure will stop the sale of other items, notably luxury goods.