Diversification of Russian Trade Flows as a Tool to Counter the Sanctions Policy of the West

The relevance of this work is justified by the fact that recently Russia, being subjected to unprecedented and comprehensive Western sanctions, has been implementing a strategy of diversifying trade and economic ties as a key tool to minimize the negative impact of sanctions restrictions, in particular in the direction of Turkey, India and China - countries that have taken a neutral position in the Russian–Ukrainian conflict. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential of various areas of diversification of Russian trade in the context of sanctions pressure. The methodological basis of the study is an analysis of the dynamics of trade between Russia and China, Turkey, India, as well as a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of expanding trade and economic relations between Russia and China, Turkey, India on the example of such important areas as investment, energy and tourism. In addition, in this study, a regression analysis of time series was used to assess the effectiveness of the Russian policy of diversifying trade flows in order to curb Western sanctions pressure against Russia. According to the results of the study, it was revealed that China is indeed a key partner of Russia in the context of sanctions, while its impact on the Russian economy is ambiguous due to the risks that arise if the degree of orientation towards it is too high, which creates the need to develop relations with alternative partners. However, at the same time, the influence of Turkey and India's share in Russian trade turned out to be insignificant for Russia's economic growth, which calls into question their effectiveness as key areas of trade diversification. Finally, it is expected that this study may be useful for economists involved in developing a strategy for diversifying Russia's trade policy.