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 telecommunications and energy sectors." The European Union's sanctions also froze the assets and imposed travel restrictions against persons who "undermined Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence."

c. U.S. Sanctions Targeting Russian Oligarchs

The U.S. and E.U. sanction regimes did not target the entire Russian economy. Instead, the sanctions designated key individuals, including several Russian oligarchs, and entities associated with important Russian policymakers.

The term "oligarch" was popularized during the privatization of the Russian economy following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Oligarchs are individuals who used political power to obtain control over former state assets in industries like oil, gas, timber, aluminum, and other natural resources. Oligarchs formally assumed control over former state-owned companies through government auctions and "loans for shares" schemes. Russians reportedly began referring to privatization as "prikhvatizatsiya" or "grabification," to describe a process whereby state authorities handed well-connected businesspersons and bankers control of previously government-controlled assets.