The Trump administration made an about-face on sanctions after the Alaska Summit between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15. Washington now appears reluctant to bolster sanctions as a means of coercing the Russian leader to the peace table, in part, because Putin's regime portrays Russia as an economic juggernaut weathering Western sanctions with ease. Our guest in this episode, Yale's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, challenges that Russian narrative.

Jeffrey was instrumental in encouraging executives to pull up stakes and leave Russia after the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. His team devised a novel A-to-F grading system to gauge the corporate exodus. Contrary to assumptions that businesses are eager to return, he makes the case that the corruption, supply chain management nightmares, and reputational risks make Russia a toxic business environment for global companies. "Nobody wants to go back in," he states unequivocally.

As peace talks continue, he argues that this economic reality undermines Putin's negotiating position far more than is widely recognized. Sonnenfeld predicts Russia will be "out of cash by New Year's" if the war continues – information critical for understanding why sanctions remain a powerful lever in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

We caught up with Jeffrey while European leaders and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were meeting with United States President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on August 18.

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Speakers:

J. Alex Tarquinio (host) is a resident correspondent at the United Nations in New York and co-founder of The Delegates Lounge podcast. @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X and @thedelegateslounge on Instagram.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld (guest) is the Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies and the Lester Crown Professor in Management Practice at the Yale School of Management. He’s best known as the founder and president of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute, a nonprofit educational and research institute focused on CEO leadership and corporate governance. @JeffSonnenfled of @YaleSOM on X.

References:

Our host mentioned a New York Times article in which she had quoted the guest. Here's that article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/14/business/mutual-funds/energy-markets-volatility.html

Photo Caption and Credit:

President Donald Trump greets Russian president Vladimir Putin at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, Friday, August 15, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)