Anarchistbanjo's World

This is taken from Readovka.news and is translated by google translate. . . It is fairly long but it clearly illustrates the values and forward thinking of Putin and his plans for a future Russia and for the entire world. I think it is food for thought and should be compared to the thinking of our own leaders as the global world economy stands on the edge of collapse. . .

Putin named six key principles for the development of Russia and its economy

The President of the Russian Federation made a number of important statements at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Russian President  Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the 25th anniversary St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Welcoming the participants, he stressed that the meeting is taking place in a very difficult, revolutionary time. 

The principles of the global economic system have been under attack, many trade, production, and logistics ties are now being tested. Key concepts for business , such as: business reputation, inviolability of property and trust in world currencies are “fundamentally undermined” , and this was done for the sake of someone’s ambitions in the West, in the name of preserving  “geopolitical illusions”, the president said.

Vladimir Putin recalled that speaking at the Davos forum a year and a half ago, he said, and even emphasized at that time, that “the era of the unipolar world order is over . ”  

“The era of the unipolar world order is over, despite all attempts to preserve it, to conserve it by any means ,” Vladimir Putin said.

The geopolitical changes that are taking place now are the natural course of history , “patterns do not work here” , especially those that are rudely imposed from a single center. The game cannot go one way, otherwise the world will be unstable.

“The United States, having won the Cold War, declared itself to be the “messengers of the Lord” on Earth. They have no obligations, but only interests, and these interests are declared sacred. They do not seem to notice that over the past decades , new centers of power have been formed on the planet and are louder and louder . They have the right to defend their national sovereignty <…> ,” the president said.

He explained that we are talking about revolutionary tectonic changes in geopolitics and the global economy , in the technological sphere. Today, the role of dynamic promising states and regions is growing, interests that can no longer be ignored.

The time of turbulent changes cannot be waited out and sat out – as before, there will be no more, nothing lasts forever, Vladimir Putin assured. Some Western countries and their ruling elites want to continue to be delusional. “Our colleagues are trying to contradict the course of history, they think in terms of the past,” he said . At the same time, other states, less powerful, consider “their backyard ” , the peoples inhabiting them are second-class people, and they are exceptional. 

“Western partners stubbornly cling to the shadows of the past, ” the president said. They have a desire to punish those who stand out from their ranks. Putin cited the fate of Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq, Libya as an example. Today they are trying to “cancel” objectionable “rebels” , everything is used: the Olympic movement, bans on culture, art, if their authors are of “wrong origin” .

This is the nature of the “crazy and thoughtless”  sanctions imposed against Russia today, the country’s leader explained. The calculation is clear – to crush the Russian economy, break business chains, hit industry, finances, and the standard of living of ordinary people. But we see that the West “failed” to do this , the president concluded. At the moment, Russia is quite confidently normalizing the economic situation.

“ We are stabilizing our economy step by step. The gloomy predictions about its prospects, made at the beginning of spring, did not come true. It was all propaganda against Russia ,” Putin said.

All these ” spells ” about ” a dollar for 200 rubles” and the collapse of the economy are a weapon of information warfare , the president said. Life has refuted such predictions. The head of state stressed: Russia must realistically and honestly assess the situation. “We are strong people ,” he said with confidence and confidence that the country will rise to any challenge.

Vladimir Putin said that at the moment the Russian Federation has suppressed the inflation surge –  after its peak of 17.8% , now inflation is 16.7%, and it continues to decline. This is also “a bit too much,” the president admitted and said that the country’s leadership would work with this and achieve a positive result. The economy shows stabilization of dynamics, state finances are stable.

“Obviously, it didn’t work out to crush Russia. The authorities worked professionally, citizens showed solidarity and responsibility . We are strengthening the economy step by step, ” Putin said.

The President also stressed that the federal budget in 2022, despite the unprecedented sanctions , is filled with a surplus.

“ 1.5 trillion rubles is a state budget surplus, ” he specified.

Putin noted that today it is extremely important to continue to increase production, increase supply in the domestic market of the country. 

“The task is to restore final demand and bank lending to the economy in a balanced way with the growth of supply ,” he said.

The state is now also trying to support not only business, but also its citizens. The rate on preferential mortgages has been reduced, today it is 9%. It is important to help people solve their housing problems and at the same time strengthen the construction and related industries, the Russian leader said. Recently, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation lowered a key stake and this made it possible for the president to make the following statement:

“I consider it possible to once again reduce the rate on preferential mortgages – this time to 7% , but before the end of this year, ” said he.

Putin stressed that if someone wants to take advantage of such a benefit, it is important to do it within the specified period. In addition, the president said that the maximum amount of loans remains: 12 million rubles for Moscow and St. Petersburg and 6 million rubles for other subjects of the Federation. He added that it was important in general to improve the availability of long-term financial resources.

“In the near future, the emphasis in supporting business activity should shift from fiscal stimulus measures to market-based bank lending ,” the Russian leader said.  

120 billion rubles will be allocated from the National Welfare Fund (NWF) to build up the capacity of the VEB Project Financing Factory .

The head of Russia said that it is important to understand that the sanctions weapon used by the West is double-edged. There is a furtive discussion in governments today that sanctions can be applied against any state. European politicians dealt a blow to the economies of their own countries with their own hands. The cost of goods, food, electricity and automotive fuel is rising. Experts estimate that the estimated losses of the European Union could exceed $ 400 billion , Putin said. 

“This is the price of decisions divorced from reality and taken contrary to common sense,” the president said.

Inflation growth in some countries of the Eurozone has exceeded 20% , which is more than in Russia, and they do not conduct any special military operations , Vladimir Putin noted.

He said that at the moment in Russia pensions have been indexed , raised the amount of the minimum wage, increased the level of the living wage. Now the high key rate is pressing the economy and business in some way, but for ordinary citizens this is a plus – they returned the money to banks at high interest rates, the president said.

At the same time, in parallel, there is a systemic decline in the growth rate of the European economy for years to come , “all this leads to an aggravation of the deep problems of Western society” – inequality in these countries will be aggravated, which will split them from the inside, the Russian leader predicted. The question now is not only in the level of well-being, but  “in value orientations” , in addition to everything. 

In the West, similar political parties change each other in power, the real interests of citizens and national business are pushed aside. All this will sooner or later lead to degradation, the growth of extreme radical movements, and as a result, a change of elites, Vladimir Putin believes.

The European Union has lost its political sovereignty, its elites are “dancing to someone else’s tune” , doing everything they are told from above. What is happening is not the result of recent months and definitely not the result of the NWO, the president said. To say that this is so is to engage in distortion of facts. “Inflation among our partners has been growing for a long time ,” Putin said. This is a logical  consequence of the irresponsible macroeconomic policies of the G7 countries , a consequence of the accumulation of unsecured debts.

“The EU has finally lost political sovereignty, its elites are dancing to someone else’s tune, causing harm to their population, the real interests of Europeans and national business are not put in anything and are pushed aside ,” the president said.

Negative processes accelerated after the start of the pandemic  back in 2020. The authorities of the leading Western economies then simply “launched the printing press” and began to cover budget deficits with newly printed currency, the Russian leader said.

Over the past two years, the US money supply has grown by more than 38% ($5.9 trillion) . In the European Union, this has  reached 20% (2.5 trillion euros). 

The President of Russia said that he, of course, heard such a term as “Putin’s inflation” in the West. “Who is this stupidity for? he wondered.

For those who can’t read and write. Today’s rise in prices, inflation, problems with food and fuel are the result of systemic mistakes in the economic policy of the current US administration and the European bureaucracy, that’s where the reason lies. And only in this , ”Vladimir Putin answered this almost rhetorical question.

Russia has absolutely nothing to do with it . Our country is a lifeline, the president said with confidence. The situation allows the leadership of Western countries to “blame” their miscalculations on the Russian Federation. “We printed money, and then what?” , the president asked an absolutely logical question. And he said that basically these funds were spent by the West on the purchase of goods and services in other states. 

“They literally began to vacuum, rake out the global markets. Of course, no one thought about the interests of other states, including the poorest ,” Vladimir Putin said.

At the end of 2019, US imports were about $250 billion per month, now they are $350 billion . It turns out that the growth was 40%, the president cited the figures. This is in line with the unbacked dollar supply that has emerged in the last few years.

“For this money, they scooped out all the goods from the markets of third countries ,” he said. 

Vladimir Putin also added that the United States has long been the largest food supplier on the world market. Today, this state has become a net importer – the States are buying up food products all over the world.

Even higher rates of import of goods are observed in the European Union. This set off a wave of deficits and global inflation.

“ Over the past couple of years, almost everything in the world has risen in price : raw materials, consumer goods, and especially food. Countries, including the US, continue to supply. The balance between exports and imports has turned the other way ,” the president added.

According to the UN, today the global  food cost index turned out to be 50% higher than in the same period last year. The composite commodity index doubled. In this regard, many world leaders in developing countries have a natural question: why exchange goods for currency?

“The economy of “imaginary entities” will inevitably be replaced by the economy of real values ​​and assets ,” Vladimir Putin voiced the logical conclusion.

According to the IMF there are now $7.1 trillion and €2.5 trillion in global foreign exchange reserves . They are depreciating at a rate of about 8% per year . In addition, these funds can be confiscated or stolen – this is a real risk. It becomes obvious that the process of converting global reserves will be launched . It is necessary to convert depreciating currencies into real resources such as food, oil and gold. This will start even more dollar inflation .

In Europe, prices are also provoked by a failed energy policy. They made a blind bet on renewables, the president said. As a result, the cost of energy has skyrocketed.

All this led to a decrease in the output of fertilizers, primarily nitrogen fertilizers, which are produced from natural gas. To date, global fertilizer prices have risen above 70% and this will not change, Putin said. Against this background, the work of enterprises and supplies from Russia and Belarus are thoughtlessly blocked, which further drives the situation into a dead end. Now, as a result, a decrease in harvests is expected, respectively, food prices will go up and all this threatens with famine, which will be on the conscience of the West and European democracy. 

“This problem did not arise today, not in the last 3-4 months, and Russia is not to blame for this. We would love to hear that we are so omnipotent. But this is not true. The situation has matured over the years, due to the activities of those who sought to pull trade flows over themselves ,” the president emphasized, noting that this is still the same “predatory colonial policy”,  only more subtle and sophisticated.

Russia provides for its domestic market and is able to significantly increase the export of its products to countries in need , it is able to increase grain supplies to 50 million tons,  he assured Vladimir Putin. Exports will be directed primarily to needy countries – African and the Middle East. The Russian Federation is ready to contribute to balancing the world markets for agricultural products.

“We are open to dialogue on issues from colleagues from the UN who understand the acuteness of the global food problem. The subject of the conversation may be the creation of normal conditions: logistical, financial, transport for increasing Russian exports of food and fertilizers , ”the president said.

Russia does not interfere with food supplies from Ukraine , he said. It is not the Russian Federation that mined the Black Sea ports, and if they are cleared of mines, then our country will ensure the safety of the escort of international courts, Putin promised.  

“There are opportunities for export, and not only through the Black Sea ports – through Belarus, Poland, Romania. This is not the point, but the adequacy of those people who are in power in Kiev ,” he said.

At the same time, the President emphasized that Ukraine now has only 5 million tons of wheat, which “will not make the weather . ” He noted that the grain can be used to pay for the supplied weapons, and this is sad.

Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s decision to hold the NMD was forced – this is the decision of a sovereign country, which is based on international law to defend its security.

“We acted on the basis of the UN Charter. The West led the active development of Ukrainian territory, pumping weapons and advisers. The West not only tried to create Ukraine as anti-Russia, but also conducted an active military development of Ukrainian territory. No money was spared for the creation of a NATO foothold in Ukraine ,” the President stressed.

All tasks of the military operation will be solved, Vladimir Putin promised. He said that the courage of the soldiers and the support of what is happening by the citizens of Russia will serve as a guarantee for this.

Sovereignty in the 21st century cannot be fragmented, the President said, all its elements are equally important. The Russian Federation needs to defend its national identity and strengthen everything that determines the economic independence of the country.

Anti-Russian sanctions  were built on a false thesis – the West was too carried away by the myths that Russia is not independent. Real facts were ignored, they did not pay attention to the fact that the Russian Federation has been developing and changing in recent years. Sanctions restrictions have posed many challenges for the country and at the same time opened up new opportunities. It is necessary to continue systematic work designed for the future, Putin said.

The key principles for the development of the country and its economy, which were outlined by Vladimir Putin:

First principle: openness

Truly sovereign states are always guided by equal partnership. Russia will never follow the path of self-isolation, the president said.

“We are expanding and will expand our interaction with those who are interested in this. There are many of them, this is the vast majority of people on earth ,” he said.

All of them are subjected to Western pressure and threats. However, real leaders are at the head of states, and they follow exclusively the national interests of their peoples. It is with them that Russia will work, Putin said. Also, the Russian Federation will continue its interaction with Western companies, with those who “despite arm-twisting, continue to work in the Russian market .  “

It is necessary to develop a convenient system of payments in national currencies, the Russian leader said. Also form transport corridors, increase the capacity of railways.

“Transshipment capacities of ports in the Arctic, in the eastern, southern, and other directions, including in the Azov-Black Sea and Caspian basins. They  will become the most important section of the north-south corridor, which will provide stable channels of communication with the Middle East and South Asia,” the president said.  

He noted that not only trade is important for the country – the country will increase scientific, technical, cultural, humanitarian and sports cooperation, built on the principles of equality and respect .

Second Principle: Building on Entrepreneurial Freedoms

Flexibility and freedom in the economy are important, Vladimir Putin noted. Private business in tough conditions has proved that it is able to compete in global markets.  Now the development of the economy will be based on it. The country’s leadership will continue to reduce the administrative burden. 

“In March of this year, we abandoned scheduled inspections of all entrepreneurs, regardless of the size of the business, with the condition that their activities are not associated with a high risk of harm to citizens and the environment ,” Vladimir Putin said. 

As a result, the number of scheduled inspections has been reduced by six times . The number of violations has not increased, but decreased . This speaks of the maturity and responsibility of Russian business, which needs to be motivated, not forced to comply with the rules, the president voiced the conclusion. 

Now the Government is ready to take a responsible step: forever, on a permanent basis, refuse to conduct most inspections of all Russian business . A “risk-oriented” approach should work , the task of the Government is to determine its parameters. It is also necessary to continue to clean up the vague norms of criminal law . Today, criminal cases can be initiated only on the proposal of the tax service. 

“A bill should be passed to reduce the statute of limitations for tax crimes. And also about the refusal to initiate criminal cases after the full repayment of the tax arrears , ”said Vladimir Putin.

He also noted that it is necessary to think about raising the threshold of liability for non-payment of customs and other obligatory payments. Change the parameters for determining large and especially large damage . It is necessary to review the parameters that apply when entrepreneurs are taken into custody,  to change the established norms so that enterprises do not have to close during the investigation stage, and so that their reputation with companies is not under attack. The relevant amendments must be prepared before October 1, 2022, the President of Russia instructed.

He said that he noticed: often criminal cases are initiated, but not brought to court. This means that they are used to blackmail and pressure companies or specific entrepreneurs . Vladimir Putin promised that additional measures would be taken on this issue this autumn.

A large role today belongs to regional management teams. The Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) has presented a rating of cities that have achieved particular success; Moscow , Tatarstan and the Moscow region are leading in it. The President especially singled out the Moscow region, which has risen from eighth to third place in the rating. The President also noted that the greatest progress is observed in the Kurgan region, the Perm and Altai regions, Ingushetia and the Ivanovo region.

He stated that in the current situation, it is important to support business initiatives of citizens in the most remote corners of the country . Now provided: demanded software, sale of eco-products, goods of own production throughout the country, through domestic Internet sites. It is necessary to create new opportunities, reduce logistics costs. It is important to include small towns and their entrepreneurs in a separate line of the national project for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, Vladimir Putin said.

He also addressed major entrepreneurs, saying that real, lasting success, a sense of dignity comes only when a person connects his future and the future of his children with the Motherland.

“Business is much more than profit. And there is. And changing the life around is an extremely important thing for self-realization. Homes are safer . Those who did not want to hear this message lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the West. Do not step on the old rake. Our country has gigantic potential, invest here , ” the President urged.

Contribution to the development of your city and the country as a whole, service to society cannot be replaced by anything , this is the meaning of life and work “it is safer at home” , the leader of the country admonished entrepreneurs. It is still unknown what is more important for the heirs, he said, money or the good name and merits of their ancestors to the country, “no one will drink it for sure”, this will help them from generation to generation in life, make them stronger, the president said.

Third principle: responsible and balanced macroeconomic policy

It was this line that helped us withstand the unprecedented sanctions, Vladimir Putin said. This strategy will be important next. Today, our goal is the steady development of the economy for years to come. Inflation should reach 4% . He also said that he had already instructed the Government to prepare proposals for a new budget rule.

“They should ensure the predictability of the budget policy, create conditions for the maximum use of the external economic environment, ” the president said.

He noted that some of the world’s currencies are “dealing with suicide . ” 

“It is pointless to sterilize our money supply with their help today. The main principle – to spend based on an understanding of how much you have earned – remains unchanged ,” Vladimir Putin said. 

Fourth Principle: Social Justice

The growth of the economy and business initiative, the industrial capabilities of the scientific and technological potential of the country should have a powerful social embodiment, the president said. The positive dynamics of the real income of citizens, the reduction of poverty is the main indicator of the effectiveness of the work of the authorities , he stressed. 

“Already this year, it is necessary to achieve a reduction in the level of poverty and an increase in the income of citizens. This is the main indicator for evaluating the work of government bodies,” Vladimir Putin said.

He also drew attention to the problem of demography and the need to support families with children. The President instructed the Government to deal with this issue, because the future of Russia is a family with two, three or more children. In April, 13% fewer babies were born in Russia than a year ago , Putin noted. He stated that the demographic situation in the country is difficult.

“The government must take drastic measures commensurate with the demographic challenge the country is facing ,” the Russian president said.

All areas that determine the quality of people’s lives should be aimed at solving the identified tasks, Putin said. In autumn, the results will be summed up and a rating of the quality of life in the regions will be compiled, the head of state promised

Fifth principle: advanced infrastructure development

In 2023, a large-scale plan for the construction and repair of the backbone network of federal and regional roads will start: “In five years, at least 85% of its length should be brought to a standard state,” the Russian leader said. 

He said that infrastructure budget loans are now actively used in the country, they are issued for 15 years at a rate of 3% . This tool works reliably, the president stated.

Putin did not disregard a comprehensive program for the modernization of housing and communal services, the industry is “chronically underinvested”, according to estimates, by 4.5 trillion rubles , over 40% of networks need to be replaced . The problem is getting worse year by year.

The head of Russia proposed to launch a reorganization of the system in order to radically change the situation. According to him, a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council on housing and communal services and construction will be held next week.

In addition, Putin advised separately increasing the amount of resources for projects to create a comfortable urban environment in small towns and historical settlements.

“Send for these purposes another 10 billion rubles annually in 2023 and 2024,” the President issued a decree. 

Additional funds will also be directed to the cities of the Far East, he said. The Head of State drew the attention of the Government to the support of agriculture. The priority should be the comprehensive development of rural areas. According to Vladimir Putin, people who work outside major cities and feed the country should live in comfortable conditions.

“I ask the government to allocate additional funds for a profile program to support agriculture. The source will be export duties on the sale of agricultural products , ” the president said.

Vladimir Putin proposed expanding programs for the reconstruction and modernization of rural houses of culture, as well as regional and municipal theaters and museums , by allocating 6 billion rubles for these purposes in 2023 and 2024.

The president also drew attention to Russian tourism . It is expected that the tourist flow this year will exceed 12 million people. Now the State Duma is considering a bill that is designed to regulate the organization of tourism in specially protected natural areas, Vladimir Putin said. All decisions must be balanced. 

The President paid special attention to Lake Baikal and its conservation. Today, a comprehensive project for the development of the city of Baikalsk is aimed at this. It will become the standard of a prudent eco-oriented economy. It is important to bring the city to a fundamentally different level of life, to make it a “visiting card of Russian ecological tourism.”

Sixth Principle: Achieving True Technological Sovereignty

It is important to create an integral system of economic development, which, according to the most important components, will be independent of foreign institutions, Vladimir Putin said. All spheres of life in Russia need to be built on a qualitatively new technological level of life. 

Import substitution is not a panacea, not a cardinal solution. We must be one step ahead and create new world standards , the President of Russia said. 

“Technological development will determine the future not only for the next decade, but for the entire 21st century. It is impossible and unnecessary to produce everything and everything, but Russia must have critically important technologies ,” the president emphasized.

At the moment, Russian designers are moving forward. The Russian Federation possesses hypersonic weapons, which still have no analogues in the world.

Putin also cited as an example the payment system of the MIR card. ”, which today is expanding its geography and gaining international recognition. He also remembered the St. Petersburg transport plant, which, in a difficult situation, was rescued by the engine builders of Yaroslavl and Tutaevby organizing the supply of their engines. After that, the production at the enterprise became a record. There will be more and more such positive practices, the President of Russia is sure. 

“Today’s task is to increase capacities, to establish the necessary lines in a short time. One of the key issues is comfortable conditions for the operation of enterprises, as well as the availability of prepared production sites. I ask the Government to present the key parameters of the new mode of operation of industrial clusters by autumn ,” the head of state instructed. 

Financing is very important in this matter: it is necessary to provide long-term lending for up to 10 years and at a rate of no more than 7% per annum. Also, in clusters, it is necessary to ensure a low level of permanent taxes and insurance premiums . It is necessary to support production at the starting, early stage, it is necessary to provide subsidies for the purchase of finished products of such enterprises. A system of simplified administration should be created , which would have a minimum number of checks , as well as easy tax and customs monitoring . It is very important to organize mechanisms for guaranteed long-term demandfor innovative products. All this should work from January 1, 2023. 

Vladimir Putin proposed to launch industrial mortgage at 5% per annum for the purchase of space for production.

“Enterprises that are ready to build new production facilities will get the right to them. All the details are with the Russian banking sector so that industrial mortgages are available in the near future ,” the president said.

He noted that the speed and scale of changes in the global economy, finance and international relations is growing significantly. The rejection of globalization is becoming more and more pronounced. The birth of a new world order is a difficult process. Russia will face many challenges and risks along the way, Vladimir Putin is sure.

The rules will be set by strong sovereign states, those who follow their own path will be able to have their say. It is necessary “to strive to move forward, to change, to feel the breath of time” , to show will and determination. 

Only strong sovereign states can have their say in the newly emerging world order, otherwise they are doomed to become a colony without rights ,” Vladimir Putin concluded.

Russia is entering the coming era as such a powerful sovereign country, which will definitely use all the opportunities that open before it.