Who is Vladimir Putin and why can’t the West understand him? One thing is certain: the Russian president represents one of the most important and dynamic periods in modern history – and not just Russian history.
He is the first politician in Russia since Stalin to be designated as “Tsar”. His candidacy to head the Kremlin was endorsed by United Russia. With the support of more than 80% of the Russian population, his fifth term as president is expected to become a reality soon after mid-2024, with elections set for March 15-17. Vladimir Putin has been elected to the Russian presidency four times: in 2000, 2004, 2012 and 2018.
In 2018, he won the Russian presidential election with 76.69% of the vote
Asia will ratify its symbolic leader, while on the other side of the world confusion will continue to reign until November, due to the still-electoral dispute between Biden and Trump – in relation to which judicial reversals and political upheavals cannot be ruled out. If nothing else, this is a great advantage to face with full force the simultaneous geopolitical crises of a world under maximum war influence.
History lessons
Putin, of course, needs no history lessons. The Russian president knows very well that he is revered as a prophet sent by God by many in his country, while just as many detest and hate him as a messenger of demonic armies. However, he seems to be a simple person like all people.
His story, like the story of any man who struggles for power, is contradictory, with fascinating pages and dark parts.
From Baskov Alley in St. Petersburg, where he was born, Putin learned early the difficult art of survival: “I went through the very demanding universities of the street: you can’t insult a person for no reason, you can’t behave with arrogance and contempt.” This is his philosophy of life.
At the Congress of United Russia, awaiting his multiple proclamation as the Kremlin’s candidate, Vladimir Putin spoke alternating the pragmatism and moral force of Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn with the poignant irony of Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov. Speaking at the conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will either become a self-sufficient, sovereign power or it will not exist at all. Words that sound like yet another warning of NATO’s progressive encirclement action.
Reference to Dugin
In his speech, Putin also traced the map of a possible multipolarity, clearly referring to the positions introduced into the geopolitical sphere by the philosopher Aleksandr Dugin:
“Together with all the people of Russia, we must defend Russia’s sovereignty, freedom, security, everything that is precious to us, our history, culture, values and traditions. To strengthen the economy, the social sphere, the scientific and technological potential in the interest of the people, the well-being of millions of Russian families and, of course, to work for the consolidation of society.” “First of all, of course, I want to thank you for your consistent and reliable support. For me it is precious and important. We have overcome challenges together, we have succeeded together and together we still have a lot to do in the interest of Russia,” Putin said.
Special military operation
Putin also referred to the special military operation in Ukraine:
“I would like to note that many laws aimed at supporting the participants of the special military operation and their families were developed at the initiative of United Russia and deputies of all factions of the State Duma voted for them unanimously.
And although I am now at the United Russia conference, I also want to thank them for this position.”
Having been in power for some 25 years, Putin admitted that he had delusions about the possibility of dialogue with the Western world. As he admits, the reality is that Europe does not need a country as big as Russia.
Putin also explained that the West decided “to follow the plan of Zbigniew Brzezinski – to divide Russia into 5 parts and draw resources from them. A divided Russia will lose its sovereignty and will not be able to defend its interests.”
Finally, a clear and precise message to the US government: “the idea that Russia will attack NATO is nonsense and Biden understands that.”
Someone less prejudiced should explain to Western governments and media what is the law of life that Vladimir Putin learned on Baskov Alley: “If you are insulted you must answer and in every battle go to the end and fight as if it were the last battle”.
How Putin turned a Western boycott into a boon for his country
Meanwhile, on the whole the foreign policies of the neoconservative Biden administration have failed or are failing.
An excellent example of this was provided by the New York Times on December 17 in an article titled “How Putin Turned a Western Boycott into a Benefit for His Country: If Companies Want to Leave Russia, the President Sets the Terms—in Ways That they benefit either the government, its elites and its war.”
This can be summed up very simply as follows: Biden and his advisers had assumed that by imposing sanctions they would condemn Russia to isolation and starvation, so that in the short term the Russian war effort in Ukraine would be starved of funds and in the long term its GDP of Russia was shrinking.
Conversely, the US economy would become more attractive to international investors. Instead, the government of Russia, which has the legal right as a sovereign nation to set the terms under which foreign companies will be allowed to leave their Russian operations, strategically decided: the assets of the companies leaving Russia had to be liquidated by 50% while only Russians qualified as suitable prospective buyers.
In this context, it is worth mentioning the remarks made by the Russian president: “You know, I have brought a chart with me, as I usually do. There is nothing that we don’t know, and I believe the Finance Minister quoted some of the evidence yesterday. The main indicator of economic growth is GDP, which is expected to have grown by 3.5% at the end of the year. It is a good indicator, showing that we have recovered from last year’s losses (when GDP fell by 2.1%). If it increases by 3.5% this year, it means that we have recovered the losses and taken a significant step forward. Unfortunately, inflation has picked up and is expected to reach 7.5% by the end of the year or slightly higher, around 8%. But the Central Bank and the Government are taking the necessary measures.
Our expectation is that we will be able to return to our target indicators. Our industrial production is growing steadily, at 3.6%. I am particularly pleased with the results in manufacturing, where production has increased by 7.5% year-on-year. It’s a result we’ve been waiting a long time to see. It is particularly heartening to see that fixed capital investment has increased by 10%.
What does this mean; The increase in industrial production and GDP is evident. Plus 10% in fixed capital investment, what does it show? It indicates that there will be sustainable growth in the medium term.
Investors provide funding. production will expand and new jobs will be created. Business profits have increased by 24%, not to mention the banks, which will gain almost three trillion rubles. Now, real wages will rise by about 8%. I understand it won’t apply to everyone, but averaged across the country this statistic is accurate.
I understand it won’t apply to everyone, but averaged across the country this statistic is accurate. And real disposable income is already on the rise. The unemployment rate is now 2.9% – unprecedented in Russian history. The external debt is decreasing.
This also shows macroeconomic stability, financial stability.
Public debt has fallen from US$46 billion to US$32 billion. And the private external debt has also been reduced (our companies duly repay all the loans they have received from foreign financial institutions) from US$ 337 billion to US$ 297 billion. That is, repayment proceeds at a steady pace – often even ahead of schedule.
Also, in 2021, life expectancy in Russia was 70.06, in 2022 it was 72.73, and in 2023 it is expected to be 74 years.” In other words, while Putin is in power in Russia (2000-2022), Russia’s economy performs almost as well as China’s.
The US and its allies want to get rid of Putin and Xi because Russia and China under the current leadership have overtaken the US and its colonies (“allies”) — and US leaders and their allies want to to Russia and China what they have already done in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Libya, and what they are trying to do in Iran and Venezuela.
In short, Putin and Xi got in the way of what the billionaires of the US and its allies want. As neoconservatives, the US deep state only believe in win-lose games and therefore constantly try to conquer (either through coups or military invasions) economic competitors. Putin and the Russians don’t like win-win games.
