ALEX BATTLER







"Kuz'kina's mother,"

or the real place and role of Russia in the world



Putin devoted the third part of the presidential speech to the military power of Russia, its offensive nuclear forces, and said in the spirit of a corn-fan Nikita Khrushchev, who threatened the West with "kuzkina's mother"; and who did not understand it, Khrushchev revealed this Russian metaphor, saying: "We'll bury you."


Before moving on to the military theme, it makes sense to return to some affirmations of the author's statement about the place of Russia in the world. Putin's judgments on this issue are unusual and, as the existentialists say, are born in a transcendental world, not connected with the mundane world.


Let me remind it: Guarantor of the Constitution inspired his listeners with an essential forecast, saying:


Russia should not only firmly entrench in the top five of the world's largest economies, but by the middle of the next decade to increase GDP per capita one and a half times. This is a challenging task. I am sure we are ready to solve it (italics mine).


First of all, it makes sense to note that those who wrote this statement for Putin, and I guess, as also he himself, plainly do not understand such a simple thing as the lack of a direct link between the economic power of the state (even with a high level of GDP per capita population) and real well-being of its citizens. The US has the most powerful economy and about 60 thousand dollars per person per year (GDP), and despite this, the number of needy citizens exceeds 50 million people. Under capitalism, economic growth, the increase in its parameters,  – as follows from the laws of capitalism, – simultaneously enriches specific segments of the population and destroys others. This axiom, as already noted in the first part of the article, Mr. President, apparently does not know. This is from the field of theory. Now let's see what happens in practice.


The truth and fictions about the place and role of Russia in the world



The Statement of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly

Part 2