The ancient barter is making a comeback in Russia's foreign trade for the first time since the 1990s, as Russian companies try to circumvent Western sanctions. Wheat for Chinese cars or flaxseed for construction materials - such exchanges illustrate the enormous pressure that international restrictions are putting on the world's largest natural resource-producing economy. • Unprecedented Sanctions and Their Effects From the annexation of Crimea in 2014 to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia