Appearance at the economic forum
Putin shows no weakness
By Frauke Niemeyer
06/17/2022, 8:04 p.m
At his International Economic Forum, Putin calls the sanctions an economic blitzkrieg. They would have had no chance of success. Instead of many representatives of large industrial nations, the Taliban are on the guest list.
The Taliban are also invited. If there is a lack of representatives of the heavyweight industrial nations of the West at an international economic forum in St. Petersburg, then the guest list can also be filled with Islamists who have traveled from Afghanistan. A guest of honor at the Russian business meeting in St. Petersburg is the President of Kazakhstan, who is not exactly a global player economically.
But: the external presentation works, and maybe that’s what matters most these days. Vladimir Putin is speaking at the Russian Economic Forum in front of a crowded hall, behind him the video screen is shining in royal blue. The President’s message is as clear as one might expect: “From the start, the economic blitzkrieg had no chance of succeeding.” With a view to the harsh Western sanctions, Putin is deliberately relaxed.
“We are strong people and we can handle any challenge,” he says, underscoring his statement with his own performance. More than an hour and a half late – according to the Kremlin due to a hacker attack on the admission system – but there is no sign of any possible health problems in Putin’s hour-long speech. The head of state stands behind the desk, routinely reads from the readings, and with the same routine he directs his attacks on the enemy in the West.
The US behaved like “God’s messenger on earth” and that the West wanted to colonize other parts of the world. But from Putin’s point of view, the changes in world affairs are fundamental and not one that can be successfully sat out. “The era of the unipolar world order is over,” his speech is translated, despite Western attempts to preserve the situation, which he, Putin, also said a year and a half ago at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
In the course of the speech, Putin also addresses the rising food prices worldwide. According to him, Russia does not impede grain deliveries from Ukraine. “We didn’t mine the ports.” If Kyiv decides to clear the mines, Moscow will ensure the safety of exports. However, according to the President, Ukrainian deliveries of grain are insignificant for the world market. It is only about five to six million tons of wheat and about the same amount of corn.
Around 750 international companies have left the country
Western sanctions against Russia would have a much greater impact on rising food prices. The lack of exports of fertilizers in particular is jeopardizing future harvests and driving up prices, says the Kremlin boss.
An estimated 750 international companies, including German companies, left the country as a result of the sanctions imposed because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And even if McDonald’s departure from the big cities was recently offset by the opening of a new Russian fast-food chain, other sectors, such as car manufacturers, cannot easily compensate for the withdrawal of Western partners. The microchips needed to equip the cars with modern electronics are simply not available in Russia when the suppliers are shutting down their factories in droves. That’s why nothing is going on at many car manufacturers at the moment.
Putin correctly states that the country is generating particularly high income due to the extremely high world market prices for oil and gas, despite the sanctions, far higher than had been planned for its own budget for 2022. However, what many experts believe is incorrect is his analysis, hence Western sanctions have come to nothing. A statement that the car industry would probably not agree with either.
The loss of purchasing power among the Russian population is severe, as is inflation, which Putin puts at 16.7 percent. They were “pressed down” to this value, but it was still too high. You work on it. What plays into Putin’s hands to maintain his image of the country’s unassailability: Raw material exports at record prices bring plenty of foreign exchange into the country, which hardly ever leaves because sanctions and logistics problems are massively hampering imports to Russia. As a result, the ruble rate has been rising for weeks, for many Russians a seismograph for the – apparently good – state of their economy.
Putin leaves few questions unanswered
Everything is in good condition, this message is also intended to underscore the economic forum in Saint Petersburg, for which Vladimir Putin speaks for an hour at a time and, after the unfriendliness towards the West, goes into the smallest details of economic development. Let no one believe that the consequences of Western sanctions are the dominant theme of the event.
In fact, it’s about innovations and new jobs through to environmental protection. When the moderator finally ends his speech with the statement that after his detailed analysis there is almost nothing left to talk about, then the Russian President has already achieved a goal.