Russian President Vladimir Putin has described a new list, including Russian officials and tycoons under a US sanctions law, as a hostile and "stupid" move spearheaded by President Donald Trump's political foes, but says he is refraining from retaliation for now.

Key points: The list includes 114 Russian politicians and 96 oligarchs

The list includes 114 Russian politicians and 96 oligarchs President Vladimir Putin says the US list targets all Russians

President Vladimir Putin says the US list targets all Russians US decides not to punish anybody under the new sanctions for now

Some observers warn the blanket list of 210 names, which reads like a who's who in Russian officialdom and business elite, could further fuel anti-Western feelings in Russia and bolster support for Mr Putin.

Mr Putin immediately struck that chord, pointing out those blacklisted by the US control companies employing millions of Russians.

He cast the US move as a blow to ordinary people.

"All of us, all 146 million, have been put on some kind of list," he said at a meeting with activists of his campaign.

"Certainly, this is an unfriendly move, which further exacerbates already-strained Russia-US relations and hurts international relations as a whole."

Donald Trump accused of giving Russia a free pass. ( AP: Evan Vucci )

The long-awaited list, ordered by Congress in response to alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential campaign, had spooked rich Russians who fear it could make them informally blacklisted in the global financial system.

The US Treasury Department named top businessmen, including the heads of two of Russia's biggest banks, metals magnates and the boss of the state gas monopoly on a list of oligarchs close to Russian power.

But the Trump administration surprised observers by announcing it had decided not to punish anybody under the new sanctions, at least for now.

Some US politicians accused Mr Trump of giving Russia a free pass, fuelling further questions about his willingness to confront Moscow.

Mr Putin noted sarcastically his name was not on the list, saying of the omission: "It hurts."

Entire Putin administration on list

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his supporters during a meeting for his campaign in Moscow. ( AP: Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo )

Mr Putin emphasised the new list came as Washington expected Moscow to cooperate on dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and the Iranian nuclear issue.

"Look, isn't it stupid? They are putting Russia in the same league with North Korea and Iran, and at the same time are asking us to take part in solving the North Korean nuclear problem and think what can be done on the Iranian track," Mr Putin said.

But he pointedly steered clear of criticising Mr Trump, describing the list as part of US political infighting.

"Those who are doing it are focusing mostly on internal politics. They are assailing the US President," Mr Putin said.

"By pointing at alleged Russian interference in the US election, they are completely ruining Russia-US relations."

Russia hawks in Congress had pushed the administration to include certain names, while Russian businessmen hired lobbyists to keep them off.

In the end, the list of 114 Russian officials included the whole of Mr Putin's administration, as listed by the Kremlin on its website, plus the Russian Cabinet, top law enforcement officials and senior executives at state-owned companies.

A companion list of 96 "oligarchs" is a carbon copy of Forbes magazine's Russian billionaires' rankings, only arranged alphabetically.

It makes no distinction between those who owe their fortunes to close ties with the Kremlin and those who don't.

Some of the people on the list have long fallen out of favour with the Kremlin.

The list includes people who have been lauded as self-made men such as Yandex chief Arkady Volozh. ( AP: Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo )

'Copying the Kremlin phonebook'

Mr Putin said the Kremlin had pondered possible retaliation while waiting for the list to be announced, but decided to refrain.

"We were ready to take retaliatory steps, and, mind you, serious ones, which would cut our relations to zero," he said.

"But we will refrain from taking these steps for now."

The US Treasury Department acknowledged the unclassified oligarchs list had been "drawn from publicly available sources".

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee for the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russian Parliament, said US intelligence failed to find compromising material on Russian politicians and, "ended up copying the Kremlin phonebook".

The idea of the seven-page unclassified document, as envisioned by Congress, was to name and shame those believed to be benefiting from Mr Putin's tenure, as the US works to isolate his Government diplomatically and economically.

Mr Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov — himself on the list — said it amounted to the recognition the US had a hostile view of the entire Russian Government.

"De facto, they have been named enemies of the United States," he said.

Washington's list could help Mr Putin consolidate his support base by burnishing his image of a strong leader who stands up to a hostile US, some observers said.

"This is a gift to Putin in the context of the presidential campaign," Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Moscow Centre said.

AP