Thanks to the sanctions, the West could be about to find out.
By EUGENE RUMER
All of this may seem far-fetched and a product of Russian paranoia, but truth is beside the point. If the idea of U.S.-backed régime change in Russia becomes an article of faith in Moscow, the negative reaction could last far longer than Putin’s régime, with dire long-term consequences for relations between the West and Russia. If Washington and Brussels continue to raise the stakes with new sanctions, they could by themselves escalate the crisis far beyond Ukraine.