The governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region, Rostislav Goldstein, is the only regional leader in Russia still unaffected by Western sanctions introduced in response to the war in Ukraine. He jokingly promised to file a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds of his "moral suffering.” He made the joke in an interview with RTVI on February 28.
Rostislav Goldstein, head of the Jewish Autonomous Region, promises to file a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights because he has not been included on any of the sanctions lists that Western countries introduced in reaction to the war in Ukraine. On February 24, the U.S. imposed sanctions against 48 governors. The State Department's list now includes all regional heads except Goldstein.
"I'm going to sue them, at Strasbourg! They are causing me moral suffering, those bastards," Goldstein said.
So far, he has been placed in none of the sanctions lists announced by Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and the European Union. The only exception is Ukraine which imposed sanctions against Goldstein in 2018.
Typically, Russian governors express delight at the news of being sanctioned. The head of the Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, called it "a wonderful birthday present." Governor of the Tambov region, Maksim Yegorov, took it as a "great compliment” on his work. However, Penza Governor, Oleg Melnichenko, responded by officially banning President Joe Biden and his family from entering the region.