Flexing its mussels

A NEW dish may soon appear in Moscow restaurants: “Belarusian” mussels. So goes a rather Soviet-style joke making the rounds since August 5th, when Russia blocked food imports from countries that have imposed sanctions on it. Seafood from America and Europe is now banned, but can still get into landlocked Belarus, which enjoys a customs-free zone with Russia. Many expect a return to the black-market smuggling of decades past.

In March, when America and the European Union first introduced limited sanctions over Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, Russia’s official response was dismissive. Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, said Russia would not answer “hysterically” with retaliatory measures. But the far-reaching Western sanctions imposed last month—targeting state-controlled banks, among others—have forced Russia to respond.