Russia's USAID ban won't be effective - expert

Russia's recently-introduced ban on USAID's activity won't be effective, former head of the Central Bank and director for research of the Higher School of Economics Sergey Aleksashenko told Ekho Moskvy on Wednesday.

"It's impossible to ban USAID's activity, the government can only close the body's office in Russia, but that won't prevent USAID's support for Russian non-governmental organizations," Aleksashenko said.

"Those who introduce such bans do not understand how the today's economy works," the expert added. 

USAID may cooperate with Russian civil society, using its representatives in other countries, including Ukraine, Poland or Finland, Aleksashenko explained.