Joe Biden and Donald Trump: Which is the lesser evil for Russia?

Andrei Nechaev, who used to serve as the minister for economy in the government of Yegor Gaidar, predicted the consequences that Russia may face as a result of the possible victory of Joe Biden in the US presidential election.

Three lines of tougher sanctions against Russia

According to Nechaev, it will be difficult for the Russian authorities to negotiate with Biden. Moscow could establish communication with Democratic presidents in the past, but now is not the case.

"Firstly, Democrats are traditionally more concerned with geopolitics and world problems than Republicans. Secondly, Democrats traditionally pay increased attention to issues of civil liberties, human rights, and so on, including in other countries. This gives another reason for tougher sanctions, since Russia certainly gives grounds for that," Nechaev wrote on his Facebook page.

In his opinion, it is very likely that the US will tighten sanctions against Russia - there are quite a few bills on this topic pending in Congress. The only question is what direction those sanctions will take.

The first direction is sanctions against modern technologies for oil production and geological exploration. Such restrictive measures have been introduced before, so they can only become tougher now.

The second direction is about the complete closure of the financial market for the Russian public debt and corporate borrowing for state-owned companies.

The third direction is about the talked-about move to disconnect Russia from the SWIFT payment system. Although the Russian Central Bank has done a lot to build the domestic payment system, it works only within the country. It remains unclear what is going to happen to settlements with foreign counterparties.

Biden or Trump, what's the difference?

According to Andrei Nechaev, Russia should not expect any positive development in its relations with the United States, should Joe Biden be declared the winner. All in all, one does not have to be a former minister to come to this conclusion.

Joseph Biden, both before the election campaign and during it, spoke extremely negatively about Russia and promised to hold Russia accountable for a variety of reasons, primarily for Russia's interference in the political life inside the United States.

At the same time, however, Russia does not have to expect anything positive from Trump's victory either. There was less negativity from Trump, but talking is one thing and doing is another. During Trump's stay in the office, the USA has imposed a great deal of sanctions against Russia.