Economic Winter #68· Oct 23, 2025

This artwork visualizes US sanctions as a form of economic warfare. The oil derrick, designed to echo Kremlin architecture, represents Russia's sanctioned energy giants, the heart of its war economy. It is being crushed by crystalline shards embedded with US financial symbols, a metaphor for the freezing of assets and technological access. The few drops of crimson oil being squeezed out directly link this economic pressure to the effort to choke off funding for the conflict, portraying a geopolitical chokehold in a stark, symbolic visual language.

• Themes: Economic warfare, Energy security, International sanctions, Great power competition, Financing of conflict, Diplomatic escalation
• Actors: United States Government, Russian Government, Rosneft, Lukoil, Vladimir Putin
• Tone: Negative
• Impact: High