Four processes occurring within the country and weakening contemporary Russian society are considered in this paper. These processes include: the reduction in income from foreign trade, the “brain drain”, the depopulation and the capital outflow. Their qualitative and quantitative characteristics are presented; the internal and external factors that contribute to the development of these processes are identified. Numerous restrictions, prohibitions, and sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation aim to stimulate the development of these negative phenomena and expand the scale of their unwanted consequences on the Russian economy and society. The results of the author’s research on the validity of Russia’s adversaries’ choice of the aforementioned processes as objects of sanctions impact on the Russian Federation are presented in this article.