Alongside the much-vaunted support that Putin enjoys (in large part a creation of the state-run media) there are strong dissenting voices. Putin’s former Vice-Premier and Minister of Finance, Alexei Kudrin, is saying that Russia needs a rule-based political and economic system capable of providing for sustainable economic growth. Kudrin, who is now responsible for drawing up a new reform plan for Russia, recently tried to persuade Putin to ease geopolitical tensions in order to attract foreign investment. The former finance minister received a stern rebuttal from Putin who said that he would never bargain over Russia’s sovereignty. Putin has thus confirmed that his understanding of sovereignty and security takes precedence over any economic logic. He seems to consider it beneath him to deal with lowly economic issues.This person is supposedly an expert on international relations and foreign policy. Spare me.
One has to be very clear about the kind of building blocks that bolster Russia’s assertiveness: they include the primacy of absolute political sovereignty and the willingness to use force. These key concepts are brought up by Moscow’s state-controlled news media and top Russian politicians on a daily basis. Russia is building a new credibility on its readiness to use the country’s hard power; not soft power, trade power, or economic competitiveness. Led by the current political elite, Russia has decided against pursuing economic development or modernizing policies, seeing these essentially as compromises.
HIs bio shows him to be a Russian liberal. The agenda of Russian liberals is for Russia to return to the Yeltsin years that almost destroyed it as country, ruled by oligarchs and mafiosi.
National priorities are sovereignty, security, order, welfare, and prosperity, in that order. The Kennan Institute and Wilson Center know this very well. The conclusion is that this a propaganda piece.
Kennan Institute Wilson Center
Everybody Wants To Be Great Again
Maxim Trudolyubov | Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. Mr. Trudolyubov was the editorial page editor of Vedomosti between 2003 and 2015. He has been a contributing opinion writer for The International New York Times since the fall of 2013.
Mr. Trudolyubov writes The Russia File blog for the Kennan Institute and oversees special publications.
- See more at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/maxim-trudolyubov#sthash.v9yBO9ns.dpuf
- See more at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/maxim-trudolyubov#sthash.v9yBO9ns.dpuf
Tom don't worry if Trump wins it looks like a return to nationalism for the US and then that will be all the rage globally... Instead of USD zombies they will turn into nationalism zombies....
ReplyDeleteWorld needs more nationalism right now...
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ReplyDeleteNational priorities are sovereignty, security, order, welfare, and prosperity, in that order.
ReplyDeleteThose sound like the priorities of the American police state.
These priorities also apply in a democracy where government is of, by and for the people. Theses are priorities that people in general demand of the government — popular sovereignty is the basis of government of, by and for the people. The number one desire of people is to feel secure and under duress the people at large will everything else for security as in wartime. Secondly, once security it achieved people want an orderly society, because order underlies higher level functionality. Then people under popular sovereignty would vote for welfare to the degree that resources permit. If prosperity can be built on that, all to the good.
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty much human psychology based on self-interest.
Ofc a society run by mafiosi has different priorities — making the people at the top wealthy and protecting and extending their wealth. This is socially disruptive and dysfunctional, and it constitutes a hijacking of popular sovereignty on liberal principles.