Factbox: How Russia has prepared itself to blunt threat of more sanctions

FILE PHOTO: An employee holds 1000 Russian Roubles notes at Goznak printing factory in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

(Reuters) - The poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and Moscow's involvement in political turmoil in neighbouring Belarus have put additional Western sanctions against Russia back on the agenda ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

But even if imposed, the impact of any new sanctions would likely be muted in comparison with previous efforts to punish Russia over its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and other "malign activities" that Moscow denies.