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Title: Globalism vs Populism in Russia’s Economy
Published: 2018-05-06
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw2AI5gn-mQ
Title: Globalism vs Populism in Russia’s Economy
Published: 2018-05-06
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw2AI5gn-mQ
1/43
Hello friends, I'm Professor Philip Kovačević and this is the 80th edition of the Russian newspapers Monitor. Today let's start with the front page of Njezavizimaya Gazeta, a middle of the road daily newspaper, the edition for April 27, 2018. On the bottom of the front page in the middle, there is an article about Russians living in the United States. The title of the article is The Russians2/43
in America are divided into two camps. The article reports that the organization calling itself the Congress of the Russian Americans. The acronym is CRA has sent a letter to the US President Donald Trump asking him to lift the sanctions against Russia. The CRA claimed to speak for the five million people of Russian origin who live in the United States and allegedly support the policies of the3/43
Russian President Vladimir Putin. The article points out that this letter was followed by another letter to the White House, which was written by the Russians opposed to Putin, who also live in the United States. This other letter was published on the website of the Atlantic Council, which is the most Russophobic and Kremlinoid thing-tank in the West. It was coordinated by the organization called the Free Russia4/43
Foundation. According to the article, the letter was signed by more than 140 Russian journalist, artist and intellectuals who live in the United States. Not surprisingly, this letter repeated all the boilerplate accusations against Russia, voiced by the US and British governments. Including of course, the claim that Russia was behind the alleged chemical weapons attack against a former GRU double-aged Sergei Skrypal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury,5/43
in March. As I said, it is clear who the main partners of the Free Russia Foundation and other ideologically similar Russia-based organizations are. It is also clear that their attitude to the present Russian political scene is widely rejected by the Russian people in general. However, at the same time, it is important to point out that the CRA and other pro-putting organizations in the United States, such6/43
as the coordinating council of Russian compatriots in the United States, work in close cooperation with the Russian diplomats. In fact, according to the article, the Russian embassy in Washington, D.C., frequently organizes events and conferences that bring together the pro-putting Russian-American organizations. One such conference is scheduled to be held in the coming months. The target group for this conference are the Russian-American students and young professionals from7/43
18 to 35 years old. One probable participant in this conference is Sergei Gladyshe, president of the non-governmental organization. The Russian-American initiative for cooperation based in Seattle, in his statement for the newspaper, Gladyshe said that he expected the conference to provide a forum for the change of ideas at networking among the Russian-language organizations in the United States. Not surprisingly, Gladyshe was also very critical of the letters,8/43
spouser by the Free Russia Foundation, and claimed that it would make the US-Russia relations even worse. As I said, it is also ironic that an entity calling itself the Free Russia Foundation works with the Atlantic Council, whose main goal is not to free, but to enslave Russia. However, the employment of the Oralian language is hardly something new for the US establishment. Overall, it is very likely9/43
that the majority of Russians living and working in the United States actually support Vladimir Putin, and what he has done for Russia since he became president for the first time 18 years ago. Just like in Russia itself, the anti-Putin views are held by a minority, perhaps even by a tiny minority, and are limited to the families and friends of the Russian oligarchs, and those who are,10/43
in one way or another, dependent on servicing the Anglo-American geopolitical interests in Eurasia. Their changes of any kind of success on the Russian political scene in the coming decades are very slim indeed. And moreover, in a potential war between Ukraine and Russia, which is seriously being contemplated by NATO's Gladiosi operatives, they would be on the side of the Russian-language organization called Ukraine. Now, let's take a11/43
look at the front page of truth, a daily newspaper, often critical of the Russian government's economic and social policies, the edition for April 27, 2018. On the bottom of the front page in the middle, there is an article about the recent statements of Yuri Chinkanshin, the head of the Russian Ministry of Finance Inspectorate, or in less formal terms, the head of the Russian financial intelligence. The12/43
title of the article is, The Financial Intelligence reported correctly, they steal. The day in the title refers to the high level Russian government officials, both on the federal and the local level. The article reports the statements of Chinkanshin at the recent Eurasian anti-corruption summit. He is quoted as saying that the Russian financial intelligence took a close look at the materials contained in the so-called Panama papers13/43
and the Paradise papers, that is to say the leaked documents from the well-established offshore companies, Mosach Fonseca and Apploby, and concluded that there was evidence. The certain Russian government officials took part in corruptive activities that led to serious damage to the Russian state budget. However, as the article points out, not much is likely to happen, as a consequence of these statements. Chinkanshin, instead, that the Inspectorate14/43
sent its report to the Russian law enforcement agencies, such as the Ministry of Interior and the FSB, but considering their inactivity, when such matters were raised in the past, the chances that the corrupt officials would actually be charged with crimes are very low. The article points out that the Russian government is likely to justify its inactivity by claims that the leaked documents were fabricated or doctored15/43
by hostile Western intelligence agencies with a goal to obstruct the Russian geopolitical agenda. However, while this may often be the case, in this particular example, it is the Russian government officials themselves who have confirmed some of the claims. The Department of the Russian Financial Intelligence says that the theft is going on, and yet nothing is being done to stop it, because those involved are close to16/43
the top leadership. Obviously, this is a serious problem that affects the way ordinary Russians perceive their own government. In other words, the government institutions are rapidly losing their legitimacy, because they do not function in the public interest, but in the interest of the few officials that are running them. According to the article in the last 15 years, more than $700 billion have been transferred from Russia17/43
into various offshore accounts and disappeared from the Russian state budget. This is a tremendous amount of money that could have been used to improve the conditions of the daily life of the Russian population. Depends of schools and hospitals could have been built with this money. The quality of life across Russia's many regions could have been substantially improved. As I see it, the publication of this article,18/43
which clearly points out the hypocritical dealings of the Russian government on the front page of the newspaper, is a sign of pressure being put on the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of his choosing a new prime minister and a new cabinet. Putin has said that he would do so after his presidential inauguration on May 7th. I think that the longtime prime minister and one19/43
time president of Russia, Mitri Medvedev, is likely to be replaced. Most Russians blame Medvedev and his neoliberal faction in the Russian government for the cuts in social services, price increases, and overall decline in the standard of living. As I pointed out in an earlier podcast, Mitvedev's close associates, the first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov and the deputy prime minister Arkadiy Vorkovich, are seen as the main20/43
promoters of the interests of the Russian oligarchs, such as Oleg Deripaska, Piotr Avon and others. At this time, they are even talking about the government bailout of the oligarchs who are negatively affected by the U.S. economic sanctions. This is obviously causing the great waves of discontent and protest among the ordinary Russians. Their anger is understandable. The oligarchs kept all the profits to themselves. And now, when21/43
they have fallen on hard times, they expect the Russian people to bail them out. No way, right? Well, in my opinion, if Putin does decide to bail out the oligarchs, he may face such a precipitous falling popularity that he will easily get a CIA-gladiol-C-color revolution in Moscow a couple years down the line. He will only have himself to blame for it. Let's see what he does,22/43
whether he keeps the neoliberal financial criminals in the high level positions, or whether he fires them all and orders their corrupt activities to be investigated and punished accordingly. Now, let's take a look at the front page of Rassiska Gazeta, a daily newspaper owned by the Russian government, the edition for April 27, 2018. On the top of the front page on the left, there is a color23/43
photograph of the new Crimean Bridge, which for the first time in history is connecting the Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland. The title of this article is the Crimean Bridge on the eve of opening for traffic. It continues on page 16 of the newspaper. The article notes that the construction of this bridge has been a dream of various Russian regimes, starting with a Tsar through the24/43
communists into the post-Soviet period. After the Crimean War was integrated into the Russian Federation in 2014, the Russian president Vladimir Putin made it an imperative for the bridge to be built as soon as possible. The completion of the bridge was initially scheduled for the end of 2018, but now it is clear that it will take place at least 6 months before the schedule. It is supposed25/43
to open for car traffic during the month of May. The train traffic is scheduled to begin at this time next year. The bridge is 19 kilometers long and its highest segment is 35 meters high, which has made it into one of the most complicated architectural projects going on in Europe at this time. The article emphasizes that the bridge was built exclusively by Russian companies. The fact26/43
that foreign companies could not take part due to the US and the EU economic sanctions against Russia turned out to be beneficial for Russian businesses and indigenous know-how. Now the Russians know what they are capable of. The article reported the bridge construction crew came from all over Russia. Those workers interviewed in the article stated that they were very happy with the pay and the working conditions.27/43
There appeared to have been only one fatal accident on the bridge since the construction began three years ago. The article stresses the economic rationale for the bridge. The transport of people in cargo from the Russian mainland to the Crimea will now become much cheaper and the Crimean industries, especially those linked to tourism, will greatly benefit. Still, it is clear that the primary value of the bridge28/43
is not economic, but geostrategic. Now after the construction of the bridge, it will be much easier for Russia to transport its military and other security forces to the Crimea in the case of need. In addition, Russia will be able to exert control and surveillance over all the traffic from the Azosy to the Black Sea and back, including the Ukrainian ship traffic. This will make the Russian29/43
presence in the region even more dominant. The Crimea will more and more blend in as a component of the Russian Federation. Its 22 years in the independent Ukraine will seem more and more as a thing of the very distant past. At the same time, the bridge will have to be carefully safeguarded and secured, as it could become a target of sabotage by hostile operators. In fact,30/43
the article lists all the technical equipment that the bridge administration possesses, in which, in my opinion, makes the Crimean bridge one of the most guarded infrastructure objects in the world. The date of the opening has still not been specified, but I suspect it will be on or near the victory day. The victory day is probably the most celebrated holiday in all of Russia's history. The Russians31/43
of all ideological orientations, whether they are monarchists, liberal, conservative or communist, can come together to celebrate it, because the holiday is about Russia's resistance, resilience and ultimate victory over foreign invaders and evil doers. And interestingly, the Crimean bridge is also about the same thing. Lastly today, let's take a look at the front page of Savyetskaya Rassia, a newspaper associated with the Communist Party of Russia, the32/43
edition for April 28, 2018. On the upper part of the front page, there are several articles about how the largest opposition party in the Russian parliament, the Communist Party of Russia, is getting ready to celebrate one of its most important holidays, the Mayday, also known as International Workers' Day. Mayday is a national holiday in many countries around the world, including Russia. According to one of the33/43
articles on the front page, the Communist Party plans to organize public protests not only in Moscow, but also in many cities and towns in Russia's regions. The regions in central and southern Russia where the Communist Party is still very strong. While it can be said that the Communist Party presidential candidate Pavel Grudinim did not do well in the presidential election in March, the Communist Party as34/43
such remains a powerful political force in Russia. At this time, the Communist Party leadership is directing its efforts toward rejuvenating its image and attracting young people to join. In connection to that, the color photograph on the front page of the newspaper, right below the title, shows two young men chanting what appear to be Communist slogans, with many red flags in the background. There is no photo35/43
caption, and so it is not clear when and where the photo was taken. It could easily be from one of the previous Mayday celebrations and protests in Moscow, next to the photo, there is an official statement of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. In this statement, the leadership had enumerated the political goals for the next period. They include the demand for the widespread nationalization of36/43
the significant parts of the Russian economy and natural resources. According to the Communist Party, this is the only way to prevent the continued power of the corrupt oligarchs. Also the Communist Party demands the stop to general price increases and cause for the government's regulation of the prices for food, medicine and public transportation. In addition, it demands the increase of the minimum income to 35,000 rubles a37/43
month, which is $560 a month, and a minimum pension to 20,000 rubles a month, which is $320 a month, and also advocates the reforms of the Russian tax system in order to make the rich pay more in taxes. Moreover, the Communist Party details its own anti-economic crisis program, which it wants the new Russian government to adopt, this program involves a clear shift in economic power from38/43
the private entrepreneurs to the state. In many ways, it represents the resurrection of the Soviet economic system. I would say that there are at least 40% of the Russian people who fully support these kinds of measures, though they do not necessarily vote for the Communist Party. It is clear that the days of neoliberal, globalist, economic policies in Russia are over. As I pointed out in discussing39/43
an earlier article, we will soon see whether the Russian President Putin has also seen the writing on the wall. I think that Putin will soon move toward embracing some of the more state-centric measures proposed by the Communists. Because that appears the only way to protect Russia, at least in part, from the future economic shocks planned for it by transnational capital and big business. The rumors that40/43
Russia will be kicked out of the swift system, thus effectively ending the Russian integration into the global banking structures have intensified in recent months. It has already become more difficult for the Russian state to borrow money from the Western creditors. No doubt Putin and his associates are busy preparing for the possibility of the swift termination. So it does not cause irreparable harm to the stability of41/43
the Russian economy. In my opinion, the firing of the current chief of the Russian central bank Elvira Nabiyulina, who has been behind many neoliberal, globalist policy decisions, that hurt the economic well-being of ordinary Russians is a necessary first step. As I see, the economist Sergei Glasiev would be an excellent replacement for Nabiyulina, his economic program, which focuses on the development of Russian resources and infrastructure using42/43
Russian-owned generated capital. And not foreign direct investments could provide Russia with steady economic growth, while making it much less vulnerable to the pressures from the West. The offence that's all for today. Thank you for watching and for your support for NewsBud. Please check out my course on Anglo-American and Russian geopolitics, now available for purchase in the NewsBud store. And of course, be cool and stay cool