Sixteen Michigan officials have been permanently banned from traveling to Russia, according to a list published by Russia's Foreign Ministry last month that places sanctions on almost 1,000 Americans.
The list bans nearly the entire Michigan delegation to Congress. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow is the only member of the delegation not listed. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.
Adam Casey, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, said Russia might be relying on outdated information to build its travel ban list.
"I think the logic of who's included and who's excluded is, is not entirely clear," he said.
Still, he said, the existence of the list was expected, and these types of sanctions between the U.S. and Russia are not new.
"The deterioration in official ties between the United States and Russia while understandable does carry some risk," said Casey.
The United States has imposed sanctions on Russia and its elite over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The measures include freezing the assets of state-owned Russian enterprises and prohibiting new investment in Russia.
