Russia sanctions hurt 1 in 10 European companies, says Aalto Univeristy expert Jukka Sihvonen

Earlier economic sanctions on Russia hurt not only Russian companies but also companies throughout Europe. Austria, the island of Jersey, Cyprus, Finland, Estonia and Germany were particularly strongly affected because of their ties with Russia.

‘Our research results show that sanctions against Russia have disproportionate effects on European companies,’ says Jukka Sihvonen, an assistant professor of accounting at Aalto University. In some cases, this was because countries served as ‘parking spaces for Russian money’, while in other cases it resulted from strong commercial ties with Russia.

The research, which was published as a report by the Bank of Finland last year, will soon appear in the peer-reviewed journal Post-Soviet Affairs. Sihvonen has previously held visiting appointments at the European Central Bank, the Bank of Finland, Goethe University, and the Umeå School of Business and Economics. Sihvonen’s research has been published in top business journals and in policy-oriented publication series of the European Central Bank and Bank of Finland.