Over the recent days bad economic news have been pouring in for Russia: the prices of bread, cheese, medicine, meats and many other product have been going up, some of them sharply. At the same time, the Ruble has reached a new low against the Dollar which forced the Russian Central Bank to intervene to defend the Ruble.
No doubt, Obama would say that the sanctions are showing their effectiveness.
Except for one problem: no economist has been able to directly link the US/EU sanctions with what we are observing. In fact, the reality is much simpler.
In the case of commodity prices what is happening is much simple: Russian companies have seized the opportunity presented by these sanctions to sharply raise their prices and make an extra profit. So far, so good. That was predictable. In fact, the Russian government and Putin himself had predicted that and they had warned that the state would be closely monitoring any such price increases and that legal action would be taken against any speculators.
This is where things become interesting.
The person in charge of this monitoring is Arkadii Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev’s cabinet has dismissed it all saying that when he goes shopping for bread he does not notice any price increases. So who is this Dvorkovich character anyway?
Arkadii Dvorkovich |
Turns out that he is a pure product of the Atlantic Integrationist clan. Himself a rather modest oligarch (his official personal income in 2011 was only 4 millon Rubles), he is married to a much bigger oligarch, Zumrud Khandadashevna Rustamova, who, according to the Russian Wikipedia, is a member of the board of directors of major companies like the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Kombinat, the gold mining Polius Zoloto, or the main Moscow airport Sheremetevo. Her official yearly income is already a healthier 42 million Rubles. Dvorkovich, who attended Duke University in the USA, is also involved in all sort of more or less shady companies and deals including the infamous Skolkovo project.
In fact, I would argue that Dvorkovich is so typical of the Atlantic Integrationists that he could be their poster boy. By sabotaging the Kremlin’s efforts to prevent Russian businesses to profit from the sanctions, Dvorkovich not only stands to get some terrific kickbacks, but he also contributes to the 5th columns efforts into convincing the general public that western sanctions are crippling Russia.
The good news is that the Eurasian Sovereignists are fighting back and that several Russian TV channels have already reported about these abnormal price increases and about the fact that Dvorkovich seems to be doing exactly nothing about it.
Over and over again we observe the same phenomenon: the President order the Prime Minister and his government to do something, and the latter just ignore him. This is a typical example of how the 5th column works in Russia and, in the future, I plan to provide more examples of this here.
The Saker
If it takes Putin to find out about this price increase from your blog (which I doubt he reads it) or some other russian papers, then I’m really thinking it’s time for people visiting this site to focus more on their daily lives and forget about geopolitics. They will just fall into a deep depression watching their favorite team kicking its own foot from incompetence.
It’s pretty sad to see Putin acting exactly like the tzar Nikolay during the years before the judeomasonic bolshevik revolution. He was paralyzed by fear and incompetence, incapabable of doing anything useful to prevent his enemies from gaining ground every day. But he didn’t step down either, sealing the dramatic faith of Russia for the next 8 decades.
Maybe Putin should go behind the scenes and allow a more energetic and assertive president to take over and do some serious cleaning, not just blowing dust in the most visible areas, like a lazy housewife does. With 80% approval he should have cleaned the 5th column in a swift move long time ago !!!
Having this economic downfall that takes places now in Russia is unacceptable (and could be the beginning of the end). Even a caveman could have seen this coming. There were plenty of opportunities to focus on this critical issue, which is feeding the masses. What was Putin and the real patriots doing for the last 6 months ??? Were they were pussyfooting, scared at the idea of losing the stream of money coming from oil and gas. Seems like they will lose it anyway, ending with both, shame and defeat.
In parallel, China also gets to see who the real boss is through the Hong-Kong events. Because they were coward enough to not make a strong stance for Russia many months ago, I feel Russia will return the favor and also not care. Brazil is being crushed economically before elections and again, no one from BRICS will give a shit.
Venezuela is also on the brink of total collapse with basic items like toilet paper becoming a luxury item (will that happen in Russia at some point ?). How can these countries can be destroyed so easy with old/classic methods is beyond my understanding.
Ukraine is having its own Cultural Revolution. What a disaster
http://lifenews.ru/news/141827
And, what Putin will do?
Do you expect to confront NATO with people like this in charge?
Good work Saker!
He looks slimy. But the real question is what the Eurasianists plan to do about the problem. The problems with the West won’t necessarily make them change their perspective, just make them fight harder.
Is there a strategy by Putin to get these folks to embarrass themselves so the whip can come down later?
Skolkovo looks like a good way to bring in lots of BND and Mossad types.
Poroshenko and cronies please take note:
Saakashvili was denied a US visa yesterday.
Too funny!
Here is a news that I think it’s worth commenting a little because it might be an example of old/classic manipulation.
http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/752249
It’s a method of deflecting criticism which I discovered in a guide for information war. The example there was that if a ruler is accused of something terrible like crimes, theft, one technique is to acknowledge the ruler is bad, but not because of those terrible things but because he did not feed his cat or dog, for example.
Now, we have Russia who turned a blind eye or did very little about crimes against ethnic russians in various regions of Ukraine, but it wants to prove how though it is by barking at small players like Moldova and Transnistria. Their strong attitude towards two regions that came under Russian occupation only in the last 200 years and have only a minority of Russian people living there is simply baffling. On top of it, most Russian citizens came there after Stalin did some serious ethnic cleansing.
This is how Russia plans to get allies ?
By barking at small nations who are already under EU occupation/threat, while doing everything to please the same EU masters (Germany, France) for a few more euros ??? If yes, then maybe what’s around the corner for Russia might be well deserved for not having a clue who your potential friends are. And its’ definitely not the germans, the english or the french. But hey, keep licking their asses.
Col. Cassad is reporting Voentorg is closed now. It could get really rough for Novorossia, and it seems intensive Russia-West negotiations are going on behind closed doors. If US will sabotage the deal as usual, Voentorg should be opened again.
In any case, sadly Novorossia are just a token in negotiations, and those who blindly defend Russia are just as wrong as those who speak about pure betrayal. Truth is in the middle – Russia simply is prepared to compromise pretty far at the expense of Novorossia, just cant sell out it completely due to many reasons.
“Военторг на данный момент практически прекратил работу, координационный штаб в Краснодоне так же закрылся ( “война же официально закончена”). Будет ли что-то вместо него, большой вопрос.”
http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/1822463.html
that photo’s begging for a caption Saker – award winning competition for best entry?!
I really hope this superstitious fear of profit doesn’t take root in Russia. It’s like watching primitive savages being scared of fire. The great big bugaboo, PROFIT, scary as it may be to socialist primitives, is nevertheless what drives investment. Investment doesn’t drop from the sky. Investment follows profit and only profit. More profit means more investment, less profit means less. Profits are a good thing. These primitive superstitions regarding profit have already devastated Latin America why inflict them on Russia? How are price controls working out in Venezuela? How’s collapse coming along in Argentina?
Here’s where I always get lost: why doesn’t Putin (or whomever is responsible for personnel changes at this level) simply remove this Dvorkovich for incompetence? This would not be “dictator Putin” “purging” people for political reasons, but rather a perfectly rational staffing decision based on performance. Why isn’t this happening?
What are the other “BRICS” nations doing to help? Food-exporting countries that might otherwise have sent their exports to NATO countries (or to NATO-sympathetic countries) should be sending those exports to Russia instead!
I’m very disappointed with BRICS countries’ response (or lack thereof) to the aggression against Russia and Novorossiya. Then again, I guess their governments are probably riddled with 5th columnists too.
Sigh. That’s the problem with many posters here and on Russian blogs like Cassad. They seem not to grasp the idea of being an ethnic Russian and being a citizen of RF. If Russian Federation invaded all places where there are ethnic Russians who’s been mistreated by local authorities, would it be any different than the USA?
Like it or not Ukraine is (still) a sovereign country. In fact everything until this moment shows that the USA and the West as a whole tried hard to drag RF into a direct military invasion of a neighboring sovereign country. To create a new Afghanistan. And failed. RF has an enormous territory and about 145 million of population to care for. It can’t be indifferent to what is going in Ukraine but the latest news about disagreements among the rebel forced themselves show that, unlike Crimea, conditions and public opinion were not ripe enough in SE Ukraine. If I remember correct the leaders there were asked to postpone the referendums. And the fact that they ignored the request raises my suspicion that not all was sincere.
P.S. And Saker, I’d personally like in the new format to have all participant registered. No that it means much but is a reference for distinguishing the participants.
I just thought I would share a US dollar/Ruble chart so readers who do not follow the currency market could see the abnormal price spike. This appears to me to be a classic case of market manipulation. You can see how atypical this kind of price action is by looking at this weekly chart and comparing it with price action during previous weeks (prior to the spike, which began the week of July 20th). Each red and green “candle” represents one week of time and price movement:
http://www.mql5.com/en/charts/2435803/usdrub-w1-finfx-trading-oy
I always find it baffling how people remark about Putin: “Why doesn’t he jail/remove this and that…Why doesn’t he…blah, blah, blah…” Do you really think he never thought about it?!…I’m pretty sure that making changes in a country as big as Russia is a very delicate, difficult and time consuming matter. Removing this idiot-5th column traitor Dvorkovich is not going to change a thing. The whole 5th column has to be round it up and charged with treason, then we might see some changes. Taking them down one by one might take a whole century or even more.
Why oh why would anyone anywhere want to become part of US? Read this last night on global research:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/ebola-and-the-rapid-vaccine-response-the-u-s-government-patented-ebola-in-2009-now-owns-all-victims-blood/5404685
a few excerpts:
Was this all scripted?
The far more likely explanation, of course, is that all this was scripted in advance: the outbreak, the international cry for help, the skyrocketing of the stock price for Tekmira (which has received financial investments from Monsanto), the urgent call for a vaccine and now the spontaneous availability of human vaccine trials. It’s all beautifully scripted from start to finish, better than a Shakespearean tragedy played out on the international stage.
The “heroes” of this theater have been pre-ordained to be drug companies and vaccines, and it is already written in the script that vaccines will be heralded as lifesaving miracles of modern science even if they infect people and cause widespread damage as has now happened to young girls in Colombia who are being hospitalized en masse after being injected with HPV vaccines. [2]…
This plot gets even more interesting when you realize that a patent on Ebola was filed in 2009 by the United States government…
Furthermore, the patent request also seeks ownership over any and all Ebola viruses which are “weakened” or “killed,” meaning the United States government is literally claiming ownership over all Ebola vaccines.
What this means, of course, is that the U.S. government could demand royalties on all Ebola vaccines.
Even more Orwellian is the fact that the U.S. government could use this patent to halt all other research for treatments or cures for Ebola…
Even more frightening, the “ownership” over Ebola extends to Ebola circulating in the bodies of Ebola victims. When Dr. Kent Brantly was relocated from Africa to the CDC’s care in Atlanta, that entire scene was carried out under the quasi-legal justification that the U.S. government “owned” the Ebola circulating in Dr. Brantly’s blood. Thus, one of the very first things that took place was the acquisition of his blood samples for archiving and R&D by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Defense.
(Only the gullible masses think that was about saving the life of a doctor. The real mission was to acquire the Ebola strain circulating in his body and use it for weaponization research, vaccine research and other R&D purposes.)… etc.
Wikipedia (not a reliable source) says:
Due to the central role of the President of Russia in the political system, the activities of the executive branch (including the Prime Minister) are significantly influenced by the head of state (for example, it is the President who appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and other members of the Government; the President may chair the meetings of the cabinet and give obligatory orders to the Prime Minister and other members of the Government, the President may also revoke any act of the Government).
So according to Wikipedia (not a reliable source) Putin can dismiss Medvedev, Dvorkovich and any other member of the Russian government (with some exceptions, such as the Prosecutor General and the Chairman of the Central Bank) without needing the approval of the Russian parliament.
So why doesn’t Putin exercise this right/power/authority? Possible reasons:
1. He approves of what they are doing (unlikely).
2. He is not aware of the harm they are doing to the cause of Eurasian Sovereignty (unlikely).
3. He fears the effects of dismissing Medvedev and people such as Dvorkovich. It may be that these people have allies among the oligarchs (and those who are responsible for maintaining essential services) who would respond to such dismissals in ways damaging to Russia or Putin or both.
Greetings from Singapore:
The blackmail goes on:
01/10/2014
Johannes Hahn, the EU’s Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Commissioner-designate, says that Serbia should carefully consider its decision not to support EU sanctions against Russia if Belgrade hopes to join the European Union.
Addressing the European Parliament on Tuesday, Hahn also said that if Belgrade “is moving towards accession, the signal will have to be the right one” when it came to sanctions against Russia.
This is an addendum to the currency chart, which I will post again here. The US dollar is the first currency in the pair. In this case, it is paired against the ruble. What the chart indicates is how high the dollar has moved against the ruble since about July 20th. Had the price gone down, it would indicate a drop in the value of the dollar against the ruble. There are grey bars on the right side and bottom of the page that can be used (they slide) to see the full chart.
http://www.mql5.com/en/charts/2435907/usdrub-w1-finfx-trading-oy
> … saying that when he goes shopping for bread he does not notice any price increases.
When the Euro was introduced as the default currency, some EU-Zone countries had the good sense to impose a temporary freeze on consumer good prices. In other countries, such as Germany, there was no price regulation to protect the consumers. At the time we were living in the UK, but I know from my sister that within days there was a steep increase in food prices in the supermarkets and that the prices of some products had actually doubled after only a few weeks. What had cost 1.00 DM a few weeks earlier was now 1.00 Euro. It was outrageous. Bourgeois greed literally has no limits. Yet, while everywhere the people were talking among themselves and while everybody was upset about this, there was not a peep to be heard in the media. No TV station covered the issue, no newspaper wrote about it. For weeks there was an absolute and total silence. When finally it became clear that the government and the business class could no longer keep a lid on the issue the media began to cover the subject by denying there was an increase in food prices and by ridiculing people who claimed that there was. My sister says that the situation was surreal: here I was, experiencing it, seeing it with my own eyes, having it confirmed by my neighbors and by friends all over the country and yet, I’m told that I am imagining things and that I’m suffering from hallucinations.
It seems, Arkadii Dvorkovich has learned a lot from his western idols/masters when tries to pull the wool over the eyes of the Russian people with such a mendacious statement. I hope he will be out of office soon.
A few weeks ago John Helmer wrote an excellent article about another of these 5th column rats in high government office.
How compelling is the saying of Jacobins, during French Revolution ‘Louis must die in order for the Revolution to live’.
> … the President orders the Prime Minister and his government
> to do something, and the latter just ignore him.
Here in France the President has just kicked out a shitty government and replaced it with an even shittier one. It was a simple but constitutionally sound procedure. I think, Vladimir Putin should perform something like an inverted/reverse Hollande. He has the powers to do it. So, what is he waiting for? Dmitri Rogozin would make an excellent Prime Minister whose moderate social-democratic views could somewhat counter-balance Putin’s conservatism.
Check this disgusting video by western backed nazis!
https://www.facebook.com/TruthfromUkraine/photos/a.1462094710680543.1073741828.1452285018328179/1554716214751725/?type=1
William Rivers Pitt said:
See, the reason we have to bomb them is because we bombed them, and then fired the Iraq Army and gave ISIS a pile of battle-seasoned veterans the opportunity to re-take the country they lost when we bombed them, then we bombed them some more to make them really angry, and then encouraged the people we bombed to bomb Syria because Assad is bad, but now Assad is less bad because we have to bomb the people trying to bomb him because we’re afraid they will bomb us, thanks to a “news” media that desperately wants us to be convinced that we’re all about to be bombed.
When competition between the U.S. and China comes up, I always ask this: Which nation’s Power Elites have made sure their children have green cards and homes in the others’ home turf?
If the U.S. Power Elites had secured Chinese citizenship for their beloved children and purchased properties in Beijing, then that would be proof that the leadership of the U.S. Empire had lost faith in the Empire’s durability and future.
But it is the other way round: it is China’s leadership which has moved its capital and offspring to Canada and the U.S. Indeed, having U.S./Canadian passports or green cards for one’s children is unequivocal evidence of membership in the Chinese Elite.
The real game plan is flexible enough to tolerate multiple inconsistencies and paradoxes. The only goal is controlling the extraction and distribution of oil, and whatever serves this goal is in play. Switching sides, abandoning proxies, cutting deals with enemies–it’s all in play, all the time.
http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.in/2014/10/oil-empire-and-playing-great-game.html
Rather interesting take on how Game Theory works although he never uses the word even once. But as he says, once you know what the plan is, it is pretty easy to defeat it so you always have many things in play and only one of the paths give you what you plan. The rest of the game is just noise to confuse and make others waste their efforts.
So if Putin Throws Novorossia or Syria under the bus that means he thinks thats not the plan. You dont waste precious resources against an opponent that is opportunistic and using a piece just to make you weaker.. A 40 Trillion economy (UK/US) can do this but a 2 Trillion economy cant. And China is the weak link. They might implode before Russia even gets close to being defeated and actually cause Russia to implode.
See things are not as they seem. Everything is balanced in such a way that one imploding can cause everyone else to go off like fire crackers. Thats what everyone is trying to prevent. Thats what even Putin is trying to prevent. If winning means a desolate country that no one wants to live in what is the point.
Alan Greenspan says China will re valuate its Gold. He was a big Gold bug before he became the Fed chairman and went before the US congress and said Gold was a relic, guess after 8 or so years he regained his senses. Although he dont think Gold will ever be used as money again, it might be used to provide stability to a country.
Well unless a large economy implodes in which case Gold will be money for the next 50 years at least.
Very good Saker: PLAN C and the 5th column. There are many ways to skin a cat and destabilizing Russia from within is one. As for all the ranting and raving about Putin and the either/or scenarios proposed here, more will be revealed. The times they are a’changing and changing quickly. Remember Putin is playing for time while he gears up for what he sees as a major possibility that the Washington covert cabal will try to pull down the whole world around their ears just because they think they can still survive -last man standing –to be King of the Mountain.
Vortex is right in his opinion (but not in his tone…).
If prices rise, investment in the sectors concerned by the russian sanctions is likely to rise, because entrepreneurs are likely to be lured by the prospect of higher profits. Then, the production might rise, and bring the prices down again.
Economic law tells us that price controls bring shortages. The citizens of the city of Antwerp learned this lesson the hard way in the 16th Century, when they were besieged by the Spanish army.
Food became scarce, so the goods became expensive. City authorities found nothing better than price controls to moderate this phenomenon.
Since nobody was ready to defy the vigilance of the besieging army to bring food from beyond the enemy’s lines for a normal price, Antwerp citizens consumed their dwindling food at “peace price” and then surrendered, when their understood no more food would come.
Comparable policies brought down the mighty Roman Empire.
Price controls are based o the faulty premise that producers or sellers should not get a higher price when their cost of production/distribution increases. Pray tell, on which grounds should they be the losers?
Bear in mind that it was not better agricultural technique which brought an end to famines in the West. The real causes were:
– the end of price controls, which gave a profit incentive to quickly bring food from surplus regions with a low price to regions suffering from the famine, where the price was high; and
– better means of transportation.
Gregory Cantor
Very good! Unmask them one after the other!!!
Karel van Wolferen who wrote earlier “The Ukraine, Corrupted Journalism, and the Atlanticist Faith” (endorsed by Paul Craig Roberts) has written a new article about Sino-Japanese relations:
https://deepresource.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/japan-as-an-american-client-state/
Van Wolferen, an expert on Japan, states that four years ago Sino-Japanese relations were negatively influenced by Washington, just like relations between EU and Russia were in 2014.
Kind regards,
Dutch
My last comment was deleted for reason that are obscure to me.
Let me try once more to introduce a modicum of economic literacy to the discussion.
If imported food supply chains are terminated and have to be replaced by others (presumably more expensive, or with higher transportation costs), and if the rouble falls, then temporary shortages and persistently increased costs will result in higher retail prices. Or they will if Russia has a market economy.
Therefore, when the government talks of punishing speculators, etc. one must conclude either that Russia does not have a competitive market economy or that the government is trying to scapegoat the corporate sector for the fallout from its foreign policies.
So which is it? If Russia has a competitive retail market place, then if you wish to fault this Dorkovich, fellow, it should be for playing along with the government pretense that rising prices are unrelated to Western sanctions and a falling currency.
If on the other hand you say that Russia’s retail markets are oligopolistic and subject to price manipulation, then the need for market reform seems to be the important issue, not some bit government PR to hide the reality.
The underlying issues are really a product of the global central banking cartel. Anyone and everyone that “knows” knows that sanctions do not work as sold to the masses. Their function is to complicate and muddy the waters so the blame game can be implemented by all sides for different reasons without fear that the global financial Ponzi scheme will be exposed.
@Anonymous above has shared a USD vs Ruble currency chart that without proper comparisons seems dire. This chart is surely based upon the premise that the USD is actually worth what it is within a “free market” economy when in fact it is not. The way the Fed has been printing Fiats just to keep the Ponzi appearing to be functional has been matched by the printing in Japan and the EU to do the same. This has allowed the “market” to be gamed and manipulated throughout the trading day(s)as the markets open, overlap and close. This is NOT in any way, shape or form, a “free market” economy. It is nothing more than a way to impose austerity and transfer “wealth” from the have-nots to the have-lots, from the domestic sovereign tax paying base to the foreign investors that pay no tax to the sovereigns instead of redistribution within the sovereign.
If one were to compare the USD to any other currency during the same period, one would see the same thing. The USD is rising against all other currencies as it is designed to do. Its value is non-existent since it is not tied to anything tangible such as GDP, wealth, debt, etc. yet the other currencies that are “pegged” to the USD have domestic considerations.
Not only that but the USD is the currency of choice within the Wall Street Casino and since the Fed is in essence the “house” that never loses since it can keep printing USD to cover the spreads and losses.
The above holds true only as long as there is certainty in the markets. Once that certainty is in doubt and the black swans start circling the wagons, the house of cards collapses. Then those currencies that are pegged get hammered and those that are de-Dollarized just get spanked until everything gets revalued by the next long cycle planners. The USD as we know it has outlived its usefulness, its 100yr cycle has been exhausted when the Commodities Super Cycle ended.
The holders of the USD will not let go without a fight but the stock markets will certainly collapse in grand fashion. This will eliminate pensions and benefits across the boars along with debts and assets. As the dust settles the next global currency, currently in waiting, will be the Yuan.
In summary, the markets are rigged so that speculators can siphon profits and transfer losses to tax payers everywhere and anywhere. On top of that, the central planners and social engineers have been playing this game for at least 2000yrs with great success. How do the do it, one might ponder? Well considering they are nothing more than modern money changers, one may realize the solution to that problem can only be found using Babylonean mathematics (base 60) as it cannot be found by using modern math (base 10). That’s just the way it is and only the “Chosen Ones” know that and why the Master Race seems to keep chasing it tail ’cause the tails really does wag the dog.
If ya wanna make “money” ya gotta buy the dip…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0akBdQa55b4
DumpHarper!
Man oh man. This is making me depressed. Oligarchs and their internal enablers.
If the Voertong is closed, is it over for Strelkov and crew?
Who gets what in the wheeling and dealing
And still sanctions remain place and are starting to have their intended effect
I haven’t felt so discouraged since the retreat from Slavyiansk
@ CanSpeccy, 01 OCTOBER 2014 21:18
My last comment was deleted for reason that are obscure to me.
Not just yours.
My 2 that were posted in mid-morning never made it. Can’t understand why they were trashed.
If this does not make it I will consider myself banned.
My comment does not appear, too.
What I said was not very important, only my ramblings, but do not think I said anything offensive.
Now, to sleep, it´s an hour.
Bihar arte!
@CanSpeccy said…
If on the other hand you say that Russia’s retail markets are oligopolistic and subject to price manipulation, then the need for market reform seems to be the important issue, not some bit government PR to hide the reality.
That statement reflects the crux of the problem and that the “capitalist” system as it is, will never allow for any market reform because the market itself if the capitalists holy grail. Market reforms come in the form of inflation and deflation by way of corrections within the boom/bust cycles driven by speculators and funded by banksters. In this game of oligarchs vs oligarchs, the oligarchs always win, even when the lose…
DumpHarper!
As long as you know, who are those 5th column saboteurs, you can keep an eye on them & feed them bovine manure. If you get rid of them they will be replaced by unknown to you people & that could be more worrying.
@ Anon Mongoose & Elsie
“My comment does not appear too.”
Maybe a slip of the mouse!
@ Anon
“the “capitalist” system as it is, will never allow for any market reform …”
The tendency of the capitalist system is always toward oligarchic control, fascist-government-collusion, and cartel-creating price fixing. But if Russia’s only alternative to state-ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange is oligarchic fascism, then Russia cannot serve as a model for the World.
Further, I don’t see why the trend to monopoly capitalism cannot be stemmed and reversed. A capital tax, as they have in very prosperous and conservative Switzerland would be a good way to start, since it is only by restricting the accumulation of capital that one can restrict the growth of oligarchic power.
In addition you’d need anti-monopoly legislation with teeth, and generous tax incentives to business start-ups capable of giving rise to a strong Mittelstand business sector.
Is this true?
“Russian parliament member Dmitriy Gudkov tweeted Tuesday that deputies in the lower parliament voted to approve a law that would allow oligarchs who have had their massive assets abroad sanctioned by the West to claim compensations funded by the Russian federal budget. The bill was proposed by a committee of members of Putin’s political party, United Russia. It says that Russians who lost a good chunk of their property to sanctions can file a suit for “compensation for the violation of their right to a proper hearing by the Russian Federation,” Russian information agency Politsovet reports.”
http://www.vocativ.com/world/russia/russian-oligarchs-law/
Maybe Putin should go behind the scenes and allow a more energetic and assertive president to take over and do some serious cleaning, not just blowing dust in the most visible areas, like a lazy housewife does. With 80% approval he should have cleaned the 5th column in a swift move long time ago !!!
Remember that song?
He’s making a list —
He’s checking it twice —
He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice —
Ignoring for a moment the Santa song is an early example of predictive programming, you can be certain that Putin and friends know exactly who’s who.
Trying now for the big picture assessment…
I can hardly believe the de-linking of the Russian economy from Anglo-Zionist finance could be going so smoothly. So far, Russia has handled it perfectly.
Most people believe that Russia is suffering from sanctions and the Anglo-Zionists are laughing. This is absolutely untrue. The bankers are using up their last reserves of everything and if it were not for fracking gone wild and the continued ability to sell potentially worthless paper to China, the bubble would burst.
So again we are confronted with the evolving reality of a tripartite world order, according to Orwell’s description. For Russia to play at this level a price must be paid. In reality it has no other good choice but only Russia is in a position to pay the costs up front and so far it is doing so without a noticable drop in the standard of living. This is a remarkable accomplishment that demonstrates Russia is back on her feet even if not yet certifiably strong.
We can talk about the Fifth Column all we like but most of these individuals are intelligent people. They see the trends the same as everyone else and most of them understand that their future is with Russia. They will only run for the exits if Putin forces a stampede and I don’t believe it will happen, even in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Those who have chosen London or New York as a base to fight Putin have made their deal with the devil but for the vast majority of oligarchs, there is a preference for keeping at least one foot firmly planted on Russian soil. I don’t believe anyone with Russian assets is rushing to Khodorkovsky’s side.
The genuine traitors to Russia are in a for a big suprise. They will always be seen as untrustworthy even to the Empire and sooner or later they will be cast aside like Berezovsky or Saakashvili.
As for China, they’re going to learn one hell of a lesson very soon and frankly, it looks good on their leadership. Today I have decided to root for the protesters in Hong Kong. I have the same opinion of the Iranian leadership and their Happy Dancin’ supporters who I’m fond of describing as a knife wielding gypsies sorrounded by waffen ss.
And finally to the common people of Zion of which I am one. There is nothing you can do for people who are determined to learn their lessons the hard way. They will party like it’s 1999 until the clock strikes midnight and only then will they be forced to come to their senses. I say bring it on.
We can only hope that Putin’s plan all along is to use this situation in Ukraine and the sanctions impact on Russia etc. to close ranks among the Eurasian Sovereignists and weed out 5th Columnist Atlanticist scum. Nothing like a “war” state to purge the bureaucracy of opponents. I think Putin is savvy enough to have thought this out several steps in advance.
A very interesting and revealing exchange of comments from a Romanian Blog. Of a general Orthodox orientation, it falls in line whenever it has to talk about the events in Russia and it does it, especially on the comments section with much gusto.
A commentator wrote that she was flabergasted by the reports of the protests in Moscow. She explained that she was just returning from a pilgrimage in Russia (to Saint Petersburg and surroundings). She said that she was amazed how much people loved Putin, she talked with numerous youth (all in English). She said: “What I heard and seen there has no relation with what we read in the newspapers”. The shops were full and not only in Petersburg, but in all villages where she went. And that she understood that the Russians would never give up and they would never betray Putin.
The reaction from the moderator and from the commentators was devastating. Almost lynching (Russian agent, nostalgic of Communism, etc). And it was not only the case of this girl. Any comments somehow favorable to Russia are immediately countered and “balanced” with the official spin.
@CanSpeccy,
Your last comment speaks volumes and is a solution. The only way for that to be accomplished is by purging the neocons and neolibs first and foremost since they essentially control the narrative via the MSM they own and they control the purse strings of the Central Banks and economic model via their ideological politico puppets at this point in time. There are a lot of confused and/or brainwashed masses so the chore is rather difficult and may be long but it is possible if real leaders can emerge and work in such a model on a grand scale. The benefits would certainly outweigh the costs.
DumpHarper!
That the oligarchs are to be compensated by the RF if their assets are frozen seems to me as robbing twice what legitimately does not belong to them. Then, why not doing the same with the moneys lost in Cyprus, which Putin himself qualified as stealing from a stealer?
As for Zion’s problem of cognitive assessment and ultimate reliance on the hard way, it very much seems to the rule rather than the exception, would it not be that the Jewish tribe has invariantly and historically allowed for its internal handling of suicide, while hailing loud and clear, the vantage point of “those who know better”. Self delusion as business as usual. What a pity!
CanSpeccy said…
So which is it? If Russia has a competitive retail market place, then if you wish to fault this Dorkovich, fellow, it should be for playing along with the government pretense that rising prices are unrelated to Western sanctions and a falling currency.
If on the other hand you say that Russia’s retail markets are oligopolistic and subject to price manipulation, then the need for market reform seems to be the important issue, not some bit government PR to hide the reality.
Since you are of the econo-literati, please point to a ONE example of a Western economy with a “competitive retail market.”
@Anon Mongoose
My 2 that were posted in mid-morning never made it. Can’t understand why they were trashed.
If this does not make it I will consider myself banned.
I lost one too (mid afternoon) but it was in poor taste and so I figured Saker was performing his Editor function.
There is always a possibility that comments are being made to disappear in an effort to reduce traffic or the perception of traffic. Lately the number of trolls has gone through the roof.
I notice that everyone is scared and fuses seem short. Between the ebola state terrorism campaign, the ME and other b.s. a lot of people are working hard to avoid so-called reality.
The US$, as the world’s reserve currency in which the overwhelming number of international transactions are settled, rises in value in relation to other currencies as high debt that can no longer be serviced requires the liquidation of assets to retire the debts. As this international debt liquidation requires the use of $US, the value of the $US rises with this renewed demand. The appearance to the layman is that the $US is rising in value and becoming more intrinsically valuable, but this should be thought of as a symptom of ongoing and systemic collapse. It does seem counterintuitive, but it is a function of supply and demand for the currency.
@ Annunaki,
Q: I haven’t felt so discouraged since the retreat from Slavyiansk.
R: That was a strategic and understandable action. What’s going on right now doesn’t make any [militarily strategic] sense to me.
It’s like watching a frozen frame of Tyson about to knock the living daylight out of his opponent, but the actual blow never comes.
The DRP and the LRP need lebensraum between them and the fascists and they won’t get it with exchanging words.
@Where-wolf
please point to a ONE example of a Western economy with a “competitive retail market.”
Um …
LOL
I have no technical knowledge of this whatever. But in some areas, at least, Western markets appear to be relatively competitive. Groceries, for example, although there is progressive concentration with the successful local firms being accumulated by a handful of national chains.
And at the wholesale level the concentration is probably greater.
With more specialized products, cars, cell phones, etc. pricing power is exerted globally at the manufacturing level by just a handful of companies.
And in the area of online commerce, and services, the advantage of the first entrants is so great as to virtually ensure monopoly or oligopoly.
So, yeah, the West provides no model of free market capitalism, and clearly the political influence of manufacturers and distributors is now such in most if not all Western states as to allow them to gain progressively greater pricing power.
@ Anon aka DumpHarper
Your last comment speaks volumes and is a solution.
Yes, if it could be implemented!
Here in canada, dumping Harper would be a start, but then we’d have Trudeau and the Libs, whose Ukraine spokesperson, Chrystia Freeland seems right on board with the neo-Nazis of Kiev. So that leaves us with only the New Democrats, who’ve never opted for a free market solution where a costly bureaucratic mess was the obviously useless alternative.
Humanity has staggered forward for 100,000 years without coming up with a social system based on principles of free and fair competition, so I’m not holding my breath for any immediate major step forward.
However, one might hope that Russia, with recent experience of the extremes of both communism and oligarchic capitalism might lead humanity in the quest for something better.
#1 anonymous 15:02
Putin was KGB for over 15 years. He knows whats going on.
You are good at knowing what to do, from you armchair front row seat.
Let’s see you do better…go get elected and outdo Putin in the time left in your life…and then come here and boast about what Putin should do.
Anon #3 15:04
You should have just put your 2cnts in the first box at the left…you’re the same guy.
Everyone who lost comments today.
Please you guys…you, all of you, are regular contributors to this blog….there is no way any of your comments were trashed on purpose.
In the next couple of days Saker is moving over to his new site with all of us in tow….so don’t be silly and take a few mistakes personally.
Your comments are valued by all of us…
Concerning the rubble/dollar charts and dollar bubble – please check any other currency against ruble: Euro, Chinese Yuan or even Polish Zlot. The prize of rubble is dropping in all comparisons indicating that we are dealing with weak ruble and not overvalued dollar (whatever will happen with the dollar in longer timeframe is another issue). Also – why are you bashing this guy when the prices go up in Russia? If Norwegian salmon and Bulgarian fruits have to be replaced by gmo free and eco friendly Belorussian salmon and bananas, then you must realise, that the prize will go up. That is just how the marker works…
Add me to the list of people whose comments mysteriously disappeared. Two of them. Hopefully the “New and Improved” Saker blog will fix that problem once and for all.
“As for China, they’re going to learn one hell of a lesson very soon and frankly, it looks good on their leadership. Today I have decided to root for the protesters in Hong Kong. I have the same opinion of the Iranian leadership and their Happy Dancin’ supporters who I’m fond of describing as a knife wielding gypsies sorrounded by waffen ss”
So lemme get this straight. You are cheerleading for the American-backed Fifth Columinists (aka pro-demoncracy stooges) in China and Iran–but you supposedly oppose America’s Fifth Columnists in Russia?
Is this correct?
If so, I gotta give you mad props. You have raised
talking out of both sides of your mouth to an art form.
America would be proud.
The current status in Ukraine is an extraordinary outcome. It’s the biggest victory against the imperialism by proxy effort to date. Syria fought the proxies to a standstill but can’t finish them off. In Ukraine, the DPR/LPR delivered a serious beating to the Nazi proxies.
The militia and people of Donbass and environs achieved this at great cost. Putin’s role was critical both in terms of what he did and didn’t do.
The fretting and criticism of Putin and the current situation is simply not realistic.
Unfortunately, we’re seeing a reherssal of a global horror in the handling of Ebola. There’s simply no reason that this can’t be stopped dead in its tracks. Well, no reason other than we’ve got idiots in charge. If this contact virus can’t be contained, what happens when a more robust version comes up. We’re doomed.
So why is Putin not going to the stores along with this guy.And checking on them,then firing him on the spot.I’ve seen videos of him laying down the law to corporations that defy him.If he wants to keep that 80+ approval rating he better get to work on this problem.
Economic statistics in the West are manipulated to give the illusion of prosperity and economic growth thereby calming financial markets.For example “Imputed rents” make up maybe 10% of the GDP of the USA – if you own a house in the US without a mortgage then you are assumed to receive an “imputed rent” for the house.You do not, of course, receive this money, it is only on paper, but it makes the economic statistics look a lot better than the undelying reality.Maybe Russia can learn from the West in this respect.
Would you do a post on Skolkovo if you have time?
How much i want to believe that Putin is for real, i have had this gut feeling for couple of years that he is just playing a roll, and is playing the good cop. You just don’t be come the leader of the biggest country in the world as second grade intelligence officer, out of the blue totally anonymous. I don’t believe in coincidences in geopolitical affairs. I sincerely hope that I’am wrong about this, but my gut feeling says the opposite. I’am afraid that if he was for real he would end as Kennedy. But in the end it is just my personnel opinion and as I said I hope that I am wrong.
http://henrymakow.com/2014/04/Is-Putin-False-Opposition.html
Part of the strategy in the 1990’s was to afford and not overtly interfere in opportunities for the oligarchs to sate their appetites thereby amongst other aspects illuminating their roles and associations both domestic and foreign, whilst preparing grounds for castration of many of the oligarchs.
Many of whom you designate the 5th column had to some degree US mentors – even in aspects of fashion and grooming – and were not all active in Russia during the 1990’s; Russia not being restricted to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Perhaps it would be unfortunate if the impression is given that the “fightback” is a fightback i.e. a reactive process, or that efforts are restricted to media.
If Strelkov quit because some 5th columnists threatened to cut the arms aid.And everyone including Strelkov seems to say that.And now if the aid has been cut anyway.It appears to me he should go back.His going back would be a great moral booster to Novorossii and he would be able to publicly complain about the arms not being sent.That would stir public opinion up inside Russia if they found about about that.And force the powers there,to either start it back to get him to leave again.Or explain to millions of pro-Novorussii Russians why the government is betraying Russian supporters.The government might loose a huge chunk of that 80+ approval if they are exposed as traitors to Russians in Novorossii and end up with Obama approval numbers.I think Russians will put up with sanctions worries if they know its for a good cause.But not if its for a sellout and they still have sanctions.
I, like Old Ez, also lose me, not understanding the diplomacy to keep these guys in their posts.
What is expected in the Kremlin to make a good cleanup with these known 5th columnists?
Once a year, does not hurt, and it could take overall demonization in Western media to get rid of them. Worse than they, the media, have done, they will not make Russia or her leaders.
In European governments ministers and advisers are changed day after day, often without justification.
http://euskalherriasozialista.blogspot.com.es/2014/09/voluntarios-del-donbass-video.html
@Anonymous 1-Oct 15:04: “What was Putin and the real patriots doing for the last 6 months ??? Were they were pussyfooting, scared at the idea of losing the stream of money coming from oil and gas. Seems like they will lose it anyway, ending with both, shame and defeat.”
With friends and patriots like you, Putin & his team doesn’t need any foe like USA and NATO…
@Anonymous 1-Oct 15:04: “In parallel, China also gets to see who the real boss is through the Hong-Kong events. Because they were coward enough to not make a strong stance for Russia many months ago, I feel Russia will return the favor and also not care. Brazil is being crushed economically before elections and again, no one from BRICS will give a shit.”
In this note you stated that Russia is expected lose, then how
can Russia return the favour to China ? Russia will lose– China will be in problem– Brazil is crushed– what will then remain in BRICS as you are expecting “no one from BRICS will give a shit ???? lol… all nonsense!!!
@Ann: “Let’s see you do better…go get elected and outdo Putin in the time left in your life…and then come here and boast about what Putin should do.”
Well said, Ann. Fitting reply to the bullshit from this Anon.
@Alien Tech: “So if Putin Throws Novorossia or Syria under the bus that means he thinks thats not the plan. You dont waste precious resources against an opponent that is opportunistic and using a piece just to make you weaker.. A 40 Trillion economy (UK/US) can do this but a 2 Trillion economy cant. And China is the weak link. They might implode before Russia even gets close to being defeated and actually cause Russia to implode.”
I am sure you are in self-deception mode by alternatingly inventing (in this blog) Russia and China as ‘weak links’… mentally you got brainwashed by “western education” for years, brother! Wake Up !!!
Straight-Bat
Part 1
Though unwell I feel compelled, as a French, to share with you two bits of French history.
First, the making of a kingdom, with well held barons and a rather free and happy people (“autorité en haut, libertés en bas” = authority at the top, freedom at the bottom), took many centuries, and I must say I find Russia’s pace absolutely astonishing at contending the oligarchs, the new barons (among other wonders). Where does the impression of slowness come from? Maybe from the suddenness of some events and the following impression of an emergency? But emergency or not, Putin must go forward rationally, without any mistake, not frenetically! Would he have followed the impressions of many here, he would no more be in Kremlin and Russia would be the prey of the haegemon, and I wonder where we could find any hope… Fortunately, I am sure he is far, far more capable of doing what he has to do than any of us. If someone can do it, it’s him and it is certainly not a coincidence if he is where he is. Maybe could we give him a little bit of our confidence : we most of us, give some of our precious confidence to more unworthy recipients, don’t we?
(TR)
Part 2
About that attempt of passing a law for indemnisation of frozen assets in the West, it reminds me of the “Milliard des Émigrés” (“billion of the emigrates”, who had been spoliated by French Revolution). King Charles X had one chief fault, credulity. I am afraid credulity is not a mere fault in a king : it is a crime. And a very ambitious and greedy cousin, the Duke of Orléans. When French monarchy was restored in 1814/1815, the first king was Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI (whose son, Louis XVII, had died in jail at 10). Louis XVIII was a very cautious king, and knew perfectly the Duke of Orléans’ intentions. To the point of an informal discussion, some day, written by the cousin himself in his dairy, about how likely it would be that the Duke of Orléans, in case of an extinction of the elder branch, could make a “coup” and pass over the second branch (then reining in Spain but irrevocably designed to succeed by precise laws if the elder branch had no male heir) to impose the Orléans one, which was the third branch.
Louis XVIII had no child and when he died in 1824, letting a very content country, his brother Charles X succeeded him. The Duke of Orléans had managed to gain his favour by continual fawning from him and his wife, who was aunt of the young widow the Duchess of Berry, mother of Charles X’s only grandson. Charles X believed them to be real friends, unlike his brother. As soon as he became king, he awarded them the style Royal Highness (they were only Serenissime Highnesses; it was the period of styles “inflation” particularly in Germany). Little by little, the Duke of Orléans managed to convince his cousin that he was poor (relatively true), that he ought to be rich and would be so if his fortune had not been seized by those awful revolutionaries (wrong : it had mostly been sold by his once richest prince in Europe but incredibly spendthrift father, Philippe-Égalité, who plotted the Revolution and voted Louis XVI’s death), and that it would be a good thing to give back their stolen goods in money, to all the nobility and gentry stolen by French Revolution. He was so convincing that Charles X yielded, and awarded (unduly) his cousin the largest portion of the allowance; so the Duke of Orléans had a great fortune, AND Charles X’s popularity drowned and the Duke of Orléans soared and after some further plot, he could throw away his cousin and become “King of the French” under the name of Louis-Philippe…
I really, really hope Putin will not do like Charles X!
This, while the European Court of Justice has already stated twice (for Iranian banks, in January 13 and last September 18th) that such sanctions were illegal, and the UK Supreme Court once… There remain the goods frozen in US but I do really think a lawyer help would be acceptable to get them back, in no way a compensation paid by Russian state, as if Russia was guilty of anything…
TR
I’m somewhat curious if the price of bread really increased in Russia because of banned food imports from west ?
Was flour imported in Russia from the west ? If the answer is yes, then this is a pretty serious problem. One of the factors that help ignite the revolution from 1917 was the lack of bread in St. Petersburg.
If flour is not imported, then price increase of bread is clearly a scam and a speculation that should be punished asap by the government.
Perhaps the reason Putin hasn’t acted to remove the “Fifth Column” is that he finds it useful to let them continue in their current positions?
Among other things, it gives him a convenient scapegoat when things don’t go well.
Just a thought.
It is very instructive to read an interview of september 28 to Yakunin, published by Itar-Tass , in which the ceo of the Russian Railroads, a member of Putin’s eurasianist group, reveals that in a Davos meeting, this Dvorkovich
Deputy PM mocked the New Silk Road to transport cargo from China to Germany saying that it would take less to walk a backpacker from Moscow to Vladivostok , rather than taking the train-to-be.
How is it that he was not sacked??
“Except for one problem: no economist has been able to directly link the US/EU sanctions with what we are observing.”
Bear in mind that the EU countries are damaging their own economies under orders from Washington so the shrinking of EU economies alone will have knock on effects everywhere else – including Russia (and the US).
The critical thing is which side is sustaining the most relative damage.
The banking mafia that rule USUK want two things:
1) They want to loot those parts of the world they already own.
2) They want to own the rest of the world so they can loot that as well.
One of the ways they are going about number (1) in the west currently is through mass immigration to drive down wages.
Mass immigration is disproportionately young men.
This has led to an imbalance between the genders which has led to a tidal wave of sexual violence in the urban areas of the western world which the ruling elite are covering up.
There’s an opportunity in this to detach the western public from their (US controlled) politicians.
.
The thing about the banking mafia is they can’t control how evil they are. This is a strength in one way because it makes them so relentless but sometimes it is a weakness too.
“I’m very disappointed with BRICS countries’ response (or lack thereof) to the aggression against Russia and Novorossiya. Then again, I guess their governments are probably riddled with 5th columnists too.”
Bear in mind the true purpose of the NSA’s global spying is blackmail.
#
“When competition between the U.S. and China comes up, I always ask this: Which nation’s Power Elites have made sure their children have green cards and homes in the others’ home turf?”
The surface power elite in the US are just puppets. The real power elite in the west are the banking mafia and they have done exactly what you suggest (in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong etc) but it’s not fully complete yet hence their current attempt to turn Hong Kong into an autonomous area.
In China it’s currently the other way round. Their surface power elite is the real one and their version of banking mafia are (currently) only second.
#
“Therefore, when the government talks of punishing speculators, etc. one must conclude either that Russia does not have a competitive market economy or that the government is trying to scapegoat the corporate sector for the fallout from its foreign policies. So which is it?”
Or both.
Obviously supply and demand suggest prices should rise from the sanctions – although that is not necessarily a bad thing if it leads to Russian farmers having more money to invest in improving their farms – but at the same time should people in the supply chain might be profiteering.
A lot of things in economics can be either good or bad depending on whether or not it leads to more investment in the future.
More profit means more investment, less profit means less. Profits are a good thing. Vortex
Get back to us when your profitless carcass needs a hip replacement.
The scenario that worked so well to facilitate collapse of the Soviet Union is started playing out again now in Russia.
Here is the important Sergey Ermolin’s article Russia That We Had Lost
http://zavtra.ru/content/view/rossiya-kotoruyu-myi-poteryali/
It’s English translation here: http://mapofthewest.blogspot.com/p/russia-that-we-had-lost.html
Another important study on the subject of how to loot and destroy Russia is the Testimony of Anne Williamson Before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the United States House of Representatives on September 21, 1999
http://www.thebirdman.org/Index/Others/Others-Doc-Economics&Finance/+Doc-Economics&Finance-GovernmentInfluence&Meddling/BankstersInRussiaAndGlobalEconomy.htm
romashka2