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The escalation of sanctions pressure and the expansion of the range of sanctions used against Russia provides for understanding the importance of studying international experience in countering restrictive measures. The article discusses the features of the application of sanctions against Iran, their impact on the economy of the state, as well as the mechanisms and ways of its adaptation to the restrictive measures of Western countries. The authors identify typological similarities, in view of which the study of the Iranian experience is significant for Russia, and differences that deserve attention in terms of understanding Russia's capabilities in this area. Iran has been under sanctions for several decades, large-scale and numerous restrictions have been applied against it. The nuclear deal contributed to eased sanctions pressure for a short period only, proving that such agreements on concessions by the target country in response to the lifting of restrictions by the initiating states are not always sustainable. As a result of the analysis, the main stages of imposing sanctions against Iran are defined. The authors highlight the trend towards sanctions against the energy and financial sector and its constant tightening, as well as the increasing number of participants in the coalition of initiating countries and the UN Security Council resolution on measures against Iran. The UN Security Council sanctions are viewed as serious measures in terms of foreign policy implications. In addition, the authors reveal the key elements of Iran's policy in the field of countering restrictive measures and adapting the economy to them. Measures related to structural changes in the economy, optimization of the social sphere, use of imperfection of sanctions regimes, diversification of international partners are indicated as such components. Thus, Iran's experience in adapting to sanctions can rather be characterized as successful and relevant for Russia, despite the different starting positions.

For a long time, the US has been a global leader in terms of use of unilateral sanctions. However, the EU is getting increasingly active as sanctions' initiator. Currently, the EU runs at least 26 regimes of sanctions to address relations with foreign states or tackle functional problems like human rights, nonproliferation, cyber security or counterterrorism. Russia is one of the targets. The EU sanctions policy raises a number of research questions. How active is the EU policy in comparison with other initiators? What are the peculiarities of the EU institutional process of sanctions implementation? What are the key targets and what is the distribution of EU decisions and actions among those targets? To address these questions the article provides analysis of Sanctions Events Database (SED), designed by Russian International Affairs Council. The research implies empirical analysis of EU sanctions policy everyday events in 2020. It also covers sanctions and enforcement actions of separate EU members as well as alignment with the EU sanctions of the third countries. The article attempts to fill in the gap in the literature between quantitative analysis of multiple sanctions cases on the one hand and in-depth analysis of particular cases on the other. It makes a special focus on EU sanctions related to Russia.

Trade with friendly countries has helped mitigate the effects of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the collective West. However, many problems remain. Replacing Western imports in the consumer sector will be easier than replacing industrial equipment or high-tech goods. Friendly countries are still unlikely to be ready to act as "black knights" in the form which was acceptable in the 20th century. So, Russia must rely on itself and its own resources.

The 21st century has seen a gradual shift from overwhelming sanctions, mainly trade embargoes, towards targeted or "smart" sanctions. The latter target designated natural and legal persons associated with a country's government, while ostensibly imposing minimal hardship on its general population. However, many empirical studies prove the existence of significant spillover effects and collateral damage from targeted sanctions. This research aims to determine whether "smart" sanctions are a reality, or a myth created to legitimize their use. The analysis shows that targeted sanctions against Russia have had spillover effects beyond the targets. The authors consider four types of spillover effects—economic, political, legal, and psychological (or reputational) ones—and suggest the criteria that determine how targeted a sanction is.