Xi Jinping visited Vladimir Putin today, and they both called each other «dear friends.» Xi says China is ready with Russia to stand guard over world order based on international law, on Moscow visit earlier today. Xi added that with Russia, China was ready to defend the UN-centric international system.
Xi pushes China to play a more dominant role in managing global affairs. China`s New World Order is on the way.
This is what the war in Ukraine is about: the new world order. The war in Ukraine is set to fundamentally transform the International order, and some people call it the world`s «de-Westernization».
A World Order is an impressive work that focuses on the geopolitical distribution of power, Henry Kissinger wrote in his book World Order.
During the 20th century, political figures such as Woodrow Wilson and Winston Churchill used the term «new world order» to refer to a new period of history characterized by a dramatic change in world political thought and in the global balance of power after World War I and World War II.
The interwar and post-World War II periods were seen as opportunities to implement idealistic proposals for global governance by collective efforts to address worldwide problems that go beyond the capacity of individual nation-states to resolve while nevertheless respecting the right of nations to self-determination.
Such collective initiatives manifested in the formation of intergovernmental organizations such as the League of Nations in 1920, the United Nations (UN) in 1945, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949, along with international regimes such as the Bretton Woods system and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), implemented to maintain a cooperative balance of power and facilitate reconciliation between nations to prevent the prospect of another global conflict.
After World War II, they all said; «Never again», and the winners, led by America, drafted conventions that defined unpardonable crimes against humanity, and sought to impose costs on those committing them.
Recalling the economic disasters and human miseries that paved the way to world war, the framers of this order built the UN and other international institutions to promote cooperation and development.
Progressives welcomed international organizations and regimes such as the United Nations in the aftermath of the two World Wars but argued that these initiatives suffered from a democratic deficit and were therefore inadequate not only to prevent another world war but to foster global justice, as the UN was chartered to be a free association of sovereign nation-states rather than a transition to democratic world government.
British writer and futurist H.G. Wells went further than progressives in the 1940s by appropriating and redefining the term «new world order» as a synonym for the establishment of a technocratic world state, and of a planned economy, garnering popularity in state socialist circles.
Right-wing populist John Birch Society claimed in the 1960s that the governments of both the United States and the Soviet Union were controlled by a cabal of corporate internationalists, «greedy» bankers, and corrupt politicians who were intent on using the UN as the vehicle to create a «One World Government».
This anti-globalist conspiracism fueled the campaign for U.S. withdrawal from the UN.
In his speech, Toward a New World Order, delivered on 11 September 1990 during a joint session of the US Congress, President George H.W. Bush described his objectives for post-Cold War global governance in cooperation with post-Soviet states. He stated:
«Until now, the world we`ve known has been a world divided – a world of barbed wire and concrete block, conflict, and the cold war. Now, we can see a new world coming into view. A world in which there is the genuine prospect of new world order.
In the words of Winston Churchill, a «world order» in which «the principles of justice and fair play …. protect the weak against the strong…..»A world where the United Nations, freed from cold war stalemate, is poised to fulfill the historic vision of its founders. A world in which freedom and respect for human rights find a home among all nations.»
The New York Times observed that progressives were denouncing this new world order as a rationalization of American imperial ambitions in the Middle East at the time.
And now, everything has changed. Again. China`s New World Order is coming.
We are moving from a Unipolar world to a Multipolar world where Europe and the U.S. are less influential. The war in Ukraine is dividing opinions between people in Western nations, and those in countries like China, India, and Turkey, a new poll suggests.
The war in Ukraine has laid bare the «sharp geographical divides in global attitudes» on «conceptions of democracy, and the composition of the future international order,» according to a new survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
While Western allies have «regained their sense of purpose on the global stage,» the gulf between their perspective and the «rest» has grown wider, the ECFR added.
There are different views about the general role the West will play in the future world order. Some people expect a new bipolar world of two blocks led by the U.S. and China, whereas there were signs that most people in major non-Western countries see the future in more multipolar terms.
China has always been in front. The silk road is known for all the roads from China to Europe, and nobody knows how old it is, but it can be as old as ten thousand years. The silk road was popular because the Chinese sold silk to Europe.
Today, China is still in front as they are considered to be the factory of the world. But this is probably not a surprise for people in China. Why?
For more than two millennia, nomarchs who ruled China proper saw their country as one of the dominant actors in the world. The concept of Zhongguo (the Middle Kingdom, as China, calls itself), is not simply geographic.
It implies that China is the cultural, political, and economic center of the world.
This Sino-centrist worldview has in many ways shaped China`s outlook on global governance. The rules, norms, and institutions that regulate international cooperation. The decline and collapse of imperial China in the 1800s and early 1900s, however, diminished Chinese influence on the global stage for more than a century.
But China is back. China has reemerged as a major power in the past two decades, with the world`s second-largest economy and a world-class military. It increasingly asserts itself, seeking to regain its centrality in the international system, and over global governance institutions.
These institutions, created mostly by Western powers after World War II, include the World Bank, which provides loans and grants to developing states, the International Monetary Fund, which works to secure the stability of the global monetary system; and the United Nations, among others.
President Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, has called for China to «lead the reform of the global governance system,» transforming institutions and norms in ways that will reflect Beijing`s values and priorities.
For over two thousand years, beginning with the Qin dynasty (221-226 BCE) and ending with the collapse of the Qing (1636-1911 BCE), monarchs who ruled China proper invoked a mandate of heaven to legitimate their own rule and rhetorically assert their own centrality to global order, even though they never built a truly global empire.
Even when China`s influence collapsed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Chinese elites dreamed of regaining global influence.
At the end of World War II, China became an initial member of the United Nations and seemed poised to play a larger role in the new international order. But after the Communist Party won the civil war and took power in 1949, China rejected the international system and tried to help create an alternative global governance order.
Frustrated with the existing international system, the Republic of China (Taiwan) remained seated on the UN Security Council, instead of the People`s Republic of China, Beijing promoted alternative values and institutions.
In 1953, Premier Zhou Enlai enunciated «The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence», mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other`s international affairs, equality, mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.
Endorsed by leaders of many newly independent former colonies, these principles formed a basis for the nonaligned movement (NAM) of the 1960s. NAM became a counterweight to Western-dominated global governance.
China returned to the international system in the early 1970s and rebuilt its ties with the United States. It accepted a weaker international role and sought to participate in the institutions and rules set up after World War II.
After the end of the Mao era, China opened up in the 1980s and 1990s, reformed its economy, and increased its role in global governance, including by cooperating with international institutions. During this time, China adapted many domestic laws to conform to those of other countries.
Deng Xiaoping, who ultimately succeeded Mao, oversaw major economic reforms in the late 1970s and early 1980s, which launched China`s growth and ultimately increased its global reach. Deng introduced market reforms, and encouraged inflows of foreign capital and technology, among other steps.
During this period, China also joined more global financial and trade institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the Asian Development Bank.
In 1989, the Chinese government violently cracked down on democracy protestors in Beijing`s Tiananmen Square, and elsewhere in the country, which resulted in widespread international condemnation.
To help rebuild its reputation and ties with other countries, beginning in the early 1990s, Beijing increasingly embraced multilateralism and integration with global governance institutions. Beijing signed multilateral agreements it had previously been reluctant to join.
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, China often proved willing to play by international rules and norms. As its economy grew, however, Beijing assumed a more active role in global governance, signaling its potential to lead and challenge existing institutions and norms.
The country boosted its power in four ways; it took on a bigger role in international institutions, advertised its increasing influence, laid the groundwork to create some of its own organizations, and sometimes subverted global governance rules.
In 2010, China surpassed Japan to become the world`s second-biggest economy and earned the third-greatest percentage of votes in the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It also created its own Multilateral Organizations.
China started to create its own Beijing-dominated institutions. A process that would expand in the 2010s. In the previous decade, Beijing had established the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which built on the earlier Shanghai 5 group, and brought together China, Russia, and Central Asian states.
In the 2010s, the SCO would become a vehicle for China to challenge existing global norms, such as pushing its idea of closed internet controlled by governments, rather than one global, open internet.
Under President Bush and Obama, Washington generally accepted that Beijing would increasingly support global governance norms and institutions. In 2005, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick publicly urged China to become a «responsible stakeholder» in the international system.
The Donald J. Trump administration, by contrast, has expressed greater concern over Chinese efforts to subvert existing norms and has pushed back against Beijing`s efforts to use international institutions to promote Chinese foreign policies and programs like the Belt and Road Initiatives.
But China challenges International norms and rules. Under Jiang Zemin`s successor Hu Jintao, China more openly challenged international norms. Beijing asserted that its sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea was a «core interest,» and «non-negotiable, « despite participating in negotiations with other claimants.
Beijing also expanded its footprint in the South China Sea; it built military facilities on disputed islands and artificial features. And it expanded its aid around the world.
Since the early 2010s, as China`s economic and military power has grown, so too has its ambition and capability to reform the global governance system to reflect Beijing`s priorities and values.
Some of the priorities Beijing promotes in global governance are defensive in nature and reflect long-standing. Chinese aims: preventing criticism of China`s human rights practices, keeping Taiwan from assuming an independent role in international institutions, and protecting Beijing from compromises to its sovereignty.
Yet China also now seeks to shape the global governance system more offensively, to advance its model of political and economic development. This development model reflects extensive state control over politics and society and a mix of both market-based practices and statism in core sectors of the economy.
Xi Jinping has called for more shared control of global governance. He has declared that China needs to «lead the reform of the global governance system with the concepts of fairness and justice».
The terms fairness and justice signal a call for a more multipolar world, one potentially with a smaller U.S. role in setting international rules. The Donald J. Trump administration`s retreat from global leadership has added to China`s opportunity to fill the void and promote multipolar global governance.
China is now pushing for a bigger role in International agencies. Chinese officials lead four of the fifteen UN specialized agencies. They are also creating alternative institutions. Beijing is building its own, China-centered institutions.
In 2013, Beijing launched the Belt and Road Initiatives. A vast plan to use Chinese assistance to fund infrastructure, and boost ties with, other countries, like their neighbor Russia. Beijing`s more proactive global strategy serves the Xi administration`s dream of returning China to its past glory.
China`s evolving global governance strategy is most apparent in four major issues; global health, internet governance, climate change, and development finance.
China seeks to become a leader in global internet governance and to promote the idea of «cyber sovereignty». That a state should exert control over the internet within its borders. In October 2017, Xi Jinping unveiled his plans to make China a «cyber superpower.»
Globally, Beijing promotes its domestic cyber sovereignty approach to internet governance, which hinges on Communist Party control and censorship. Xi`s administration uses increasingly advanced technology to dominate the domestic internet and social media, blocking global search engines, and social media sites, and promoting domestic versions.
China`s domestic internet offers an alternative to existing, freer models of internet governance, and Beijing also uses its influence at the United Nations, and other forums to push countries to adopt a more closed internet.
Meanwhile, Chinese corporations such as Huawei, and CloudWalk have supplied repressive governments in Venezuela and Zimbabwe with surveillance tools like facial recognition technology.
And the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) contains a «Digital Silk Road Initiative» that includes inviting foreign officials to participate in workshops on information technology policy, including controlling the internet.
If China and Russia can set the standards for internet governance, they could pave the way for other countries to embrace cyber sovereignty, sparking a divided world with two internets. One is generally open, and the other is closed and favored by autocracies.
The world has become less democratic in recent years. Democracy is in decline. The number of people that have democratic rights has recently plummeted: between 2016 and 2022, this number fell from 3,9 billion to 2,3 billion people.
The world underwent phases of autocratization in the 1930s and again in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, people fought to turn the tide and pushed democratic rights to unprecedented heights. But what now? Can we do the same again?
A new Chinese world order is coming, and they are not democratic.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shinybull.com. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Shinybull.com nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities, or other financial instruments. Shinybull.com and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Many people around the world do not want a surveillance society, but the truth is that it has never been easier to follow different people 24/7/365. Many are looking to Communist China, and its tactics and impact on society.
But surveillance isn`t something new. The Nazis did it. So did the Communists in East Germany. The Nazis had Gestapo, while the Communists had Stasi, and Stasi is the official name for Ministerium fur Staatsicherheit (German: «Ministry for State Security»).
Stasi was a secret police agency of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Furthermore; the Stasi was one of the most hated and feared institutions of the East German communist government. It all started after World War II: in 1950, and it lasted until the end in 1990 (after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989).
The difference between Gestapo and Stasi is that Gestapo had 40,000 officials watching a country of 80 million, while the Stasi employed 102,000 to control only 17 million. One might add that the Nazi terror lasted only twelve years, whereas the Stasi had four decades in which to perfect its machinery of oppression, espionage, and international terrorism and subversion.
By at least one estimate, the Stasi maintained greater surveillance over its own people than any secret police force in history.
The Stasi employed one secret policeman for every 166 East Germans. By comparison, the Gestapo deployed one secret policeman per 2,000 people.
Stasi agents infiltrated and undermined West Germany`s government and spy agencies.
The Stasi was much worse than the Gestapo, if you consider only the oppression of its own people, according to Simon Wiesnthal of Vienna, Austria, who has been hunting Nazi criminals for half a century. But, why was the Stasi so extremely good?
Many of the techniques used by the Stasi had actually been pioneered by the Nazis and in particular the Gestapo. They relied heavily on information-gathering and intelligence in order to create an atmosphere of fear and to get citizens to denounce one another. It worked extremely successfully. But, why did they do it? What was the goal of the Stasi?
The goal was to destroy secretly the self-confidence of people, for example by damaging their reputation, organizing failures in their work, and destroying their personal relationships. Considering this, East Germany was a very modern dictatorship. The Stasi didn`t try to arrest every dissident.
They had many different tactics, including questioning, repeated stop, and searches, strange noises on telephone lines, and conspicuous visits to the workplace so that bosses and colleagues were aware of the police interest.
The Stasi steamed open letters, copied them, filed them, and sent them on. They went into homes when people were out and bugged them. They tapped into the phone infrastructure of the building, maintained contacts and occasionally cooperated with West German terrorists.
The Stasi`s function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state authority. This was accomplished primarily through the use of a network of civilian informants. KGB also invited the Stasi to establish operational bases in Moscow and Leningrad to monitor visiting East German tourists.
The Stasi also acted as a proxy for KGB to conduct activities in other Eastern Bloc countries, such as Poland, where the Soviets were despised.
Due to their close ties with Soviet intelligence services, Mielke referred to the Stasi officers as «Chekists». In 1978, Mielke formally granted KGB officers in East Germany the same rights and powers that they enjoyed in the Soviet Union.
Between 1950 and 1989, the Stasi employed a total of 274,000 people in an effort to root out the class enemy. In 1989, the Stasi employed 91,015 people full-time, including 2,000 fully employed unofficial collaborators, 13,073 soldiers and 2,232 officers of the GDR army, along with 173,081 unofficial informants inside GDR, and 1,553 informants in West Germany.
Regular commissioned Stasi officers were recruited from conscripts who had been honorably discharged from their 18 months’ compulsory military service, had been members of the SED, had had a high level of participation in the Party`s youth wing`s activities, and had been Stasi informers during their service in the Military.
The candidates were then made to sit through several tests and exams, which identified their intellectual capacity to be an officer and their political reliability. University graduates who had completed their military service did not need to take these tests and exams.
They then attended a two-year officer training program at the Stasi college (Hochschule) in Potsdam.
By 1995, some 174,000 inoffizielle Mitarbeiter (Ims) Stasi informants had been identified, almost 2,5% of East Germany`s population between the ages of 18 and 60. 10,000 Ims were under 18 years of age.
From the volume of material destroyed in the final days of the regime, the office of the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records (BstU) believes that there could have been as many as 500,000 informers.
A former Stasi colonel who served in the counterintelligence directorate estimated that the figure could be as high as 2 million if occasional informants were included.
Full-time officers were posted to all major industrial plants (the extent of any surveillance largely dependent on how valuable a product was to the economy), and one tenant in every apartment building was designed as a watchdog reporting to an area representative of the Volkspolizei (Vopo).
Spies reported every relative or friend who stayed the night at another`s apartment. Tiny holes were drilled in apartment and hotel room walls through which Stasi agents filmed citizens with special video cameras.
Schools, universities, and hospitals were extensively infiltrated.
A large number of Stasi informants were tram conductors, janitors, doctors, nurses, and teachers. Mielke believed that the best informants were those whose jobs entailed frequent contact with the public.
In some cases, spouses even spied on each other.
The roles of informants ranged from those already in some way involved in state security (such as the police and the armed services) to those in the dissident movements (such as in the arts and the Protestant Church).
Information gathered about the latter groups was frequently used to divide or discredit members. Informants were made to feel important, given material or social incentives, and were imbued with a sense of adventure, and only around 7,7%, according to official figures, were coerced into cooperating.
The Stasi had files on everyone. They spied on almost every aspect of East German`s daily lives, and they carried out international espionage. It kept files on about 5,6 million people and amassed an enormous archive. The archive holds 111 kilometers of files in total.
The Stasi was the official state security service of East Germany, the German Democratic-Republican in short the GDR. The Stasi`s motto was «Schild und Schwert der Partei» (Shield and Sword of the Party).
«The Party» was the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany.
The Stasi perfected the technique of psychological harassment of perceived enemies known as Zersetzung, which is a term borrowed from chemistry that literally means «decomposition». Chemical decomposition means chemical breakdown.
For example, the stability of a chemical compound is eventually limited when exposed to extreme environmental conditions such as heat, radiation, humidity, or the acidity of a solvent. Because of this chemical decomposition is often an undesired chemical reaction.
The goal was to paralyze people, and it could do so because it had access to so much personal information and to so many institutions.
By the 1970s, the Stasi had decided that the methods of overt persecution that had been employed up to that time, such as arrest and torture, were too crude and obvious. Such forms of oppression were drawing significant international condemnation.
It was realized that psychological harassment was far less likely to be recognized for what it was, so its victims, and their supporters, were less likely to be provoked into active resistance, given that they would often not be aware of the source of their problems, or even its exact nature.
International condemnation could also be avoided.
Zersetzung (decomposition) was designed to side-track and «switch off» perceived enemies so that they would lose the will to continue any «inappropriate» activities.
Anyone who was judged to display politically, culturally or religiously incorrect attitudes could be viewed as a «hostile-negative» force and targeted with Zersetzung methods.
For this reason members of the Church, writers, artists, and members further developed in a «creative and differentiated» manner based upon the specific person being targeted i.e. They were tailored based on the target`s psychology and life situation.
Tactics employed under Zersetzung usually involved the disruption of the victim`s private or family life.
This often included psychological attacks, such as breaking into their home and subtly manipulating the contents, in a form of gaslighting i.e. Moving furniture around, altering the timing of an alarm, removing pictures from walls, or replacing one variety of tea with another, etc.
Other practices include property damage, sabotage of cars, travel bans, career sabotage, administering purposely incorrect medical treatment, smear campaigns which could include subversion, wiretapping, bugging, mysterious phone calls or unnecessary deliveries, even including sending a vibrator to a target`s wife.
Increasing degrees of unemployment and social isolation could and frequently did occur due to the negative psychological, physical, and social ramifications of being targeted.
USUALLY, VICTIMS HAD NO IDEA THAT THE STASI WERE RESPONSIBLE.
The victims didn`t know what was happening. They were confused, and everybody around the target could watch as he or she crumbled under the relentless pressure of state harassment. Zersetzung was designed by the Stasi, and it was a form of psychological harassment to wreak havoc on an individual, without any need to arrest or torture the target.
Many thought that they were losing their minds, and mental breakdowns and suicide were sometimes the results. There is ongoing debate as to the extent if at all, to which weaponized directed energy devices, such as X-ray transmitters, were also used against victims.
A direct-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices.
The main goal was to give the victims a lot of pain because that was much better than putting them in prison and torturing them. One of the symptoms was called the Havana syndrome. It was a syndrome of medical symptoms reported by US personnel in Havana, Cuba, and other locations, suspected by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to be caused by microwave energy.
Some common bio-effects of non-lethal electromagnetic weapons include difficulty breathing, disorientation, nausea, pain, vertigo, and other systemic discomfort.
Interference with breathing poses the most significant, potentially lethal results. Light and repetitive visual signals can include epileptic seizures. Bection and motion sickness can also occur.
After German reunification, revelations of the Stati`s international activities were publicized, such as its military training of the West German Red Army Faction. Stasi experts also helped train the secret police organization of Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia.
They helped Fidel Castro`s regime in Cuba. Stasi officers helped in the initial training and indoctrination of Egyptian State Security organizations under the Nassar regime. They helped to create secret police forces in the People`s Republic of Angola, the People`s Republic of Mozambique, and the People`s Republic of Yemen.
The Stasi organized and extensively trained Syrian intelligence services under the regime of Hafez al-Assad. They also helped to set up Idi Amin`s secret service. They helped the President of Ghana.
Documents in the Stasi archives state that the KGB ordered Bulgarian agents to assassinate Pope John Paul II, who was known for his criticism of human rights in the Eastern Bloc, and the Stasi was asked to help with covering up traces.
The Stasi in 1972, also made plans to assist the Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam) in improving its intelligence work during the Vietnam War.
That was then, but how is it now? We must ask ourselves how our own society is built. The Stasi had a system for monitoring telephone conversations, but if they could do it in the 70s, what can be happening even today? What about social media, emails, smartphones, and computers.
A lot of people believe that China`s social system is scary. But that system is not only about China. It`s in many other countries in Europe and America. They have surveillance cameras, face recognition, and the requirements to always praise the government. It sounds like an Orwellian nightmare come true. Or a Stasi system of surveillance.
China`s social credit system affects freedom of speech, resulting in censorship and self-censorship, ultimately silencing any form of opposition. But this is not only about China. The web itself is a surveillance machine. As it stands today, you are what you click.
Once you`re logged on to your computer and have access to the internet, the system will see what you are doing, and you will be tracked by your browser, by third parties, by cookies, and by almost all the sites you are logging into.
The data you give the third party for free is aggregated and a profile about you is being created. Most of the information you give away for free is being used for targeted advertisements. But it could well be used to create a so-called Social Credit System.
Once all the data is collected, the profile is created, and it can be very difficult to change your own profile. Your profile of yours will lead to real-life consequences.
In addition, China has set up more than 100 so-called overseas police stations across the globe to monitor, harass, and in some cases repatriate Chinese citizens living in exile, using bilateral security arrangements struck with countries in Europe and Africa to gain widespread presence internationally, according to CNN.
The State Security Ministry is the principal civilian intelligence, security, and secret police agency of the People`s Republic of China, responsible for counterintelligence, foreign intelligence, and political security. The MSS is active in industrial espionage and adept at cyber espionage.
A document from the US Department of Justice described the agency as being like a combination of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Many foreign analysts describe the Communist «Part-State» and its security agencies as being left without a real ideology, relying only on repression and the stoking of Chinese nationalism, more recent works, however, highlight the increasing importance of Marxism-Leninism in the worldview, internal culture and self-image of the CCP security apparatus; Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong remain the central influences, although classical Chinese thinkers such as Sun Tzu are also studied.
1,412 billion live in China. How many agents do they have? Only 87 million live in Iran, and they have its own Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to protect the priests at the top. It is a multi-service primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. Active personnel last year was 210,000, while 60,000 was paramilitary forces.
According to BBC, the UK is preparing to formally declare that Iran`s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is a terrorist organization. It follows a similar decision made by the US in 2019. After a popular antigovernment protest in Iran, the number of people killed by security forces has increased.
The state of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran has been criticized by Iranians and international human rights activists.
The Stasi was one of the most hated and feared institutions of the East German communist government. Nor is CCP so popular. Iran`s Revolutionary Guard is also unpopular. The funniest thing is that they are all funded by «the people».
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shinybull.com. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Shinybull.com nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities, or other financial instruments. Shinybull.com and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Former president Donald Trump is one of the few presidents in the U.S. that didn`t start a new war. He is also the man who said a war in Iraq is stupid and should be avoided. Now, he slams the «warmongers» and «globalists» in a new social media video message.
World War III has never been closer than it is right now. And Trump is right. Just take a look at the Doomsday clock. For 2021 and 2022, the clock`s hands were set to 100 seconds to midnight. Since this time-keeping exercise began in 1947, the announcement on Jan 24, 2023, represents the closest the clock has ever been to midnight.
This is a clear wake-up call.
According to Pastor Jimmy Evans, we are only 10 seconds to midnight, and we have never been closer than that. Mr. Evans knows the bible and believes we are at the end times.
The Doomsday Clock, created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to illustrate how close humanity has come to the world’s end, moved its «time» in 2023 to 90 seconds to midnight. That`s 10 seconds closer than it has been for the past three years.
The Doomsday clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a human-made global catastrophe. It is a design that warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making. The clock is telling us how close we are to total annihilation.
The clock is not only about existential threats, but also about difficult scientific topics such as climate change. But the decision to move the clock 10 seconds forward this year is due to Russia`s invasion of Ukraine, and the increased risk of nuclear escalation.
On top of that, we have the breakdown of norms and institutions needed to reduce risks associated with biological threats like Covid-19.
The Doomsday Clock
«We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality,» Rachel Bronson, president, and CEO of the Bulletin, said in a new release. «It`s a decision our experts do not take lightly. The US government, its NATO allies, and Ukraine have a multitude of channels for dialogue; we urge leaders to explore all of them to their fullest ability to turn back the Clock.»
Former president Donald Trump said in a new video that he wants to clean the house of all of the «warmongers,» America`s last globalists, the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the National Security Industrial Complex.
«One of the reasons I was the only president in a generation who didn`t start a war, is that I was the only president who rejected the catastrophic advice of many of Washinton`s generals, bureaucrats, and the so-called diplomats, who only know how to get us into conflict, but they don`t know how to get us out,» Trump said in his new video.
«We need to get rid of the corrupt globalist establishment that has botched every major foreign policy decision for decades, and that includes President Biden,» Trump said.
Furthermore, Trump says he is the president who delivers peace. Not only that. It is peace through strength. Mr. Trump said America could end the Ukraine conflict in 24 hours with the right leadership. A war Putin and Russia did everything they could to stop, according to Putin`s speech earlier this week.
Putin has warned you all. If the US and NATO continue to expand, Putin will push the button, and that will be the end of us all. World War III has never been closer, and The Doomsday Clock is ticking.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shinybull.com. The author has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information provided; however, neither Shinybull.com nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities, or other financial instruments. Shinybull.com and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
Vladimir Putin spoke to his own people on Tuesday, and he delivered a nearly two-hour-long State of the Nation address. Below is some of the text of his speech. (Russia refers to the Russia-Ukraine War as a special military operation).
Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon!
Dear deputies of the Federal Assembly – senators, deputies of the State Duma!
Dear citizens of Russia!
With today’s Address, I am speaking at a difficult time – we all know this very well – a milestone time for our country, at a time of cardinal, irreversible changes throughout the world, the most important historical events that determine the future of our country and our people, when each of we has a huge responsibility.
A year ago, in order to protect people on our historical lands, to ensure the security of our country, to eliminate the threat posed by the neo-Nazi regime that emerged in Ukraine after the 2014 coup, a decision was made to conduct a special military operation. And step by step, carefully and consistently, we will solve the tasks before us.
Starting from 2014, Donbass fought, defended the right to live on its own land, speak its native language, fought and did not give up in the conditions of blockade and constant shelling, undisguised hatred from the Kiev regime, believed and waited for Russia to come to the rescue.
Meanwhile – and you know this well – we did everything possible, really everything possible to solve this problem by peaceful means, patiently negotiated a peaceful way out of this grave conflict.
But a completely different scenario was being prepared behind our backs. The promises of the Western rulers, their assurances about the desire for peace in the Donbass turned out to be, as we now see, a forgery, a cruel lie. They simply played for time, engaged in chicanery, turned a blind eye to political assassinations, to the repressions of the Kiev regime against objectionable people, to mockery of believers, and more and more encouraged Ukrainian neo-Nazis to carry out terrorist actions in the Donbass. In Western academies and schools, officers of nationalist battalions were trained and weapons were supplied.
And I want to emphasize that even before the start of the special military operation, Kyiv was negotiating with the West on the supply of air defense systems, combat aircraft, and other heavy equipment to Ukraine. We also remember the attempts of the Kyiv regime to acquire nuclear weapons, because we talked about it publicly.
The United States and NATO rapidly deployed their army bases and secret biological laboratories near the borders of our country, mastered the theater of future military operations in the course of maneuvers, prepared the Kiev regime subject to them, the Ukraine they had enslaved, for a big war.
And today they admit it – they admit it publicly, openly, without hesitation. They seem to be proud, reveling in their treachery, calling both the Minsk agreements and the Normandy format a diplomatic performance, a bluff. It turns out that all the time when the Donbass was on fire, when blood was shed, when Russia was sincerely – I want to emphasize this – it was sincerely striving for a peaceful solution, they were playing on people’s lives, they were playing, in fact, as they say in well-known circles, with marked cards.
This disgusting method of deception has been tried many times before. They behaved just as shamelessly, duplicitously, destroying Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, Syria. From this shame they will never be washed off. The concepts of honor, trust, decency are not for them.
Over the long centuries of colonialism, diktat, hegemony, they got used to being allowed everything, got used to spitting on the whole world. It turned out that they treat the peoples of their own countries just as disdainfully, like a master – after all, they cynically deceived them too or deceived them with fables about the search for peace, about adherence to the UN Security Council resolutions on Donbass. Indeed, the Western elites have become a symbol of total unprincipled lies.
We firmly defend not only our interests, but also our position that in the modern world there should be no division into the so-called civilized countries and all the rest, that an honest partnership is needed, which in principle denies any exclusivity, especially aggressive.
We were open, sincerely ready for a constructive dialogue with the West, we said and insisted that both Europe and the whole world needed an indivisible security system equal for all states, and for many years we suggested that our partners discuss this idea together and work on it. implementation. But in response, they received an indistinct or hypocritical reaction. This is about words. But there were also specific actions: the expansion of NATO to our borders, the creation of new positional areas for missile defense in Europe and Asia – they decided to hide behind us with an “umbrella”, this is the deployment of military contingents, and not only near the borders of Russia.
I want to emphasize, yes, in fact, it is well known to everyone: not a single country in the world has such a number of military bases abroad as the United States of America. There are hundreds of them, I want to emphasize this, hundreds of bases around the world, the whole planet is littered, you just need to look at the map.
The whole world has seen them pull out of fundamental armaments agreements, including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, unilaterally tear apart the fundamental agreements that keep the world on track. For some reason, they did it – they don’t do anything just like that, as you know.
Finally, in December 2021, we officially submitted draft security assurance agreements to the US and NATO. But in all key, fundamental positions for us, they received, in fact, a direct refusal. Then it finally became clear that the go-ahead for the implementation of aggressive plans was given and they were not going to stop.
The threat is growing, and every day. The incoming information left no doubt that by February 2022, everything was ready for another bloody punitive action in the Donbass, against which, let me remind you, the Kiev regime threw artillery, tanks, and planes back in 2014.
We all remember well the pictures when air strikes were carried out on Donetsk, air strikes were carried out not only on it, but also on other cities. In 2015, they again attempted a direct attack on the Donbass, while continuing the blockade, shelling, and terror against civilians. All this, let me remind you, completely contradicted the relevant documents and resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, completely – everyone pretended that nothing was happening.
I want to repeat this: it was they who unleashed the war, and we used force and use it to stop it.
Those who planned a new attack on Donetsk, Donbass, and Luhansk clearly understood that the next target was a strike on Crimea and Sevastopol, and we knew and understood this. And now such far-reaching plans are also openly spoken about in Kyiv – they have revealed, they have revealed what we already knew so well.
We protect people’s lives, our own home. And the goal of the West is unlimited power. He has already spent more than $150 billion on aiding and arming the Kyiv regime. For comparison: according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the G7 countries have allocated about $60 billion in 2020-2021 to help the world’s poorest states. Understandable, right? For the war – 150, and for the poorest countries, which are allegedly constantly taken care of – 60, and even under the well-known demands of obedience from the countries – recipients of this money. And where is all the talk about the fight against poverty, about sustainable development, about the environment? Where does it all go? Where did it all go? At the same time, the flow of money for the war does not decrease. Also, they spare no expense to encourage unrest and upheavals in other countries, and again all over the world.
At a recent conference in Munich, there were endless accusations against Russia. One gets the impression that this was done only so that everyone would forget what the so-called West has done in recent decades. And it was they who let the genie out of the bottle, plunged entire regions into chaos.
According to American experts themselves, as a result of wars – I want to draw attention to this: we did not come up with these figures, the Americans themselves give them – as a result of the wars that the United States unleashed after 2001, almost 900 thousand people died, more than 38 million became refugees . Now they just want to erase all this from the memory of mankind, they pretend that nothing happened. But no one in the world has forgotten and will not forget this.
None of them consider human casualties and tragedies, because, of course, trillions and trillions of dollars are at stake; the ability to continue to rob everyone; under the guise of words about democracy and freedoms, to spread neoliberal and inherently totalitarian values; hang labels on entire countries and peoples, publicly insult their leaders; suppress dissent in their own countries; creating the image of an enemy, diverting people’s attention from corruption scandals – after all, all this does not leave the screens, we see it all – from the growing internal economic, social, interethnic problems and contradictions.
Let me remind you that in the 30s of the last century, the West actually opened the way for the Nazis to power in Germany. And in our time, they began to make “anti-Russia” out of Ukraine. The project is actually not new. People who are at least a little immersed in history know perfectly well: this project goes back to the 19th century, it was cultivated in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in Poland, and other countries with one goal – to tear off these historical territories, which today are called Ukraine , from our country. That’s what this goal is. There is nothing new, no novelty, everything is repeated.
The West accelerated the implementation of this project today by supporting the 2014 coup. After all, the coup is bloody, anti-state, anti-constitutional – as if nothing had happened, as if it was necessary, they even reported how much money was spent on it. Russophobia, extremely aggressive nationalism, was laid in the ideological basis.
Recently, one of the brigades of the armed forces of Ukraine, ashamed to say – we are ashamed, they are not, – was given the name “Edelweiss”, as the Nazi division, which participated in the deportation of Jews, the execution of prisoners of war, in punitive operations against the partisans of Yugoslavia, Italy, Czechoslovakia and Greece . The Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine are especially popular with the chevrons Das Reich, “Dead Head”, “Galicia”, other SS units, , which also have blood on their hands to the elbow. The identification marks of the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany are applied to Ukrainian armored vehicles.
Neo-Nazis do not hide whose heirs they consider themselves to be. It is surprising that in the West, none of the powers that be does not notice. Why? Because they, excuse me for bad manners, do not care. It doesn’t give a damn who to bet on in the fight against us, in the fight against Russia. The main thing is that they fight against us, against our country, which means that everyone can be used. And we saw it, and it happened: both terrorists and neo-Nazis, even if the devil is bald, you can use it, God forgive me, if only they would fulfill their will, serve as a weapon against Russia.
The “anti-Russia” project is, in fact, part of a revanchist policy towards our country, to create hotbeds of instability and conflicts right at our borders. And then, in the 30s of the last century, and now the plan is the same – to direct aggression to the east, to kindle a war in Europe, to eliminate competitors by proxy.
We are not at war with the people of Ukraine, I have already spoken about this many times. The people of Ukraine themselves became a hostage of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, who actually occupied this country in the political, military, economic sense, destroyed Ukrainian industry for decades, and plundered natural resources. The natural result was social degradation, a colossal increase in poverty and inequality. And in such conditions, of course, it is easy to scoop up material for military operations. Nobody thought about people, they were prepared for slaughter and eventually turned into consumables. It’s sad, it’s just scary to talk about it, but it’s a fact.
Responsibility for inciting the Ukrainian conflict, for the escalation, for the increase in the number of its victims lies entirely with the Western elites and, of course, with the current Kiev regime, for which the Ukrainian people are, in fact, a stranger. The current Ukrainian regime serves not national interests, but the interests of third countries.
The West is using Ukraine both as a battering ram against Russia and as a training ground. I will not now dwell on the West’s attempts to turn the tide of hostilities, on their plans to increase military supplies – everyone is already well aware of this. But one circumstance should be clear to everyone: the more long-range Western systems will come to Ukraine, the further we will be forced to move the threat away from our borders. It `s naturally.
The elites of the West make no secret of their goal: to inflict – as they say, this is direct speech – “the strategic defeat of Russia.” What does it mean? For us, what is it? This means finishing with us once and for all, that is, they intend to transfer a local conflict into a phase of global confrontation. This is exactly how we understand all this and will react accordingly, because in this case we are talking about the existence of our country.
But they also cannot but be aware that it is impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield, therefore they are conducting more and more aggressive information attacks against us. First of all, of course, young people, young generations are chosen as the target. And here again they constantly lie, distort historical facts, do not stop attacks on our culture, on the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religious organizations of our country.
Look at what they are doing with their own peoples: the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, abuse of children, up to pedophilia, are declared the norm, the norm of their life, and clergy, priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages. God bless them, let them do what they want. What do you want to say here? Adults have the right to live as they want, we have treated this in Russia and will always treat it this way: no one intrudes into private life, and we are not going to do it.
But I want to tell them: but look, excuse me, the sacred scriptures, the main books of all other world religions. Everything is said there, including that the family is the union of a man and a woman, but these sacred texts are now being questioned. The Anglican Church, for example, has been reported to be planning—planning, though only just yet—to explore the idea of a gender-neutral god. What can you say? God forgive me, they don’t know what they’re doing.
Millions of people in the West understand that they are being led to a real spiritual catastrophe. The elites, frankly, are just going crazy, and it seems that there is no cure. But these are their problems, as I said, and we are obliged to protect our children, and we will do it: we will protect our children from degradation and degeneration.
It is obvious that the West will try to undermine and split our society, to rely on national traitors who at all times – I want to emphasize this – have the same poison of contempt for their own Fatherland and the desire to make money by selling this poison to those who are ready pay for it. It’s always been that way.
Whoever embarked on the path of direct betrayal, committing terrorist and other crimes against the security of our society, the territorial integrity of the country, will be held accountable under the law.
But we will never be like the Kyiv regime and the Western elites who are engaged in and have been engaged in the “witch hunt”, we will not settle scores with those who took a step aside, retreated from their homeland. Let it remain on their conscience, let them live with it – they have to live with it. The main thing is that the people, the citizens of Russia gave them a moral assessment.
I am proud – I think that we are all proud – that our multinational people, the vast majority of citizens have taken a principled position regarding the special military operation, understood the meaning of the actions we are doing, supported our actions to protect Donbass. In this support, first of all, real patriotism was manifested – a feeling that is historically inherent in our people. It amazes with its dignity, deep awareness by everyone, I emphasize, by everyone, of their own inextricable fate with the fate of the Fatherland.
Dear friends, I want to thank everyone, all the people of Russia for their courage and determination, to say thank you to our heroes, soldiers and officers of the army and navy, the National Guard, members of the special services and all law enforcement agencies, soldiers of the Donetsk and Luhansk corps, volunteers, patriots who fight in the ranks combat army reserve BARS.
I want to apologize: I’m sorry that during today’s speech I can’t name everyone. You know, when I was preparing this speech, I wrote a long, long list of these heroic units, then I took it out of today’s speech, because, as I said, it is impossible to name everyone, and I was simply afraid to offend those whom I would not name.
Low bow to the parents, wives, families of our defenders, doctors and paramedics, medical instructors, nurses who save the wounded, railway workers and drivers who supply the front, builders who erect fortifications and restore housing, roads, civilian facilities, workers and engineers of defense plants, who now work almost around the clock, in several shifts, to rural workers who reliably ensure the food security of the country.
I thank the teachers who sincerely care about the young generations of Russia, especially those teachers who work in the most difficult, in fact front-line, conditions; cultural figures who come to the war zone, to hospitals to support soldiers and officers; volunteers who help the front and civilians; journalists, above all, of course, war correspondents who take risks on the front lines to tell the whole world the truth; pastors of Russian traditional religions, military priests, whose wise word supports and inspires people; civil servants and entrepreneurs – all those who perform their professional, civic and simply human duty.
Special words for residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. You yourself, dear friends, you yourself determined your future in referendums, made a firm choice, despite the threats and terror of neo-Nazis, in conditions when military operations were very close, but there was and is nothing stronger than your determination to be with Russia, with your Motherland.
(Applause.)
I want to emphasize that this is the audience’s reaction to the residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson. Once again: low bow to all of them.
We have already begun and will continue to build up a large-scale program for the socio-economic recovery and development of these new subjects of the Federation. This includes reviving enterprises and jobs, the ports of the Sea of Azov, which has once again become an inland sea of Russia, and building new modern roads, as we did in Crimea, which now has a reliable land connection with all of Russia. We will definitely implement all these plans together.
Today, the regions of the country provide direct support to the cities, districts and villages of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson region, they do it sincerely, like real brothers and sisters. Now we are together again, which means that we have become even stronger and will do everything so that the long-awaited peace returns to our land, so that the safety of people is ensured. For this, for their ancestors, for the future of children and grandchildren, for the restoration of historical justice, for the reunification of our people, fighters, our heroes are fighting today.
Dear friends, I ask you to honor the memory of our comrades-in-arms who gave their lives for Russia, civilians, the elderly, women, children who died under shelling at the hands of neo-Nazis and punishers.
(Moment of silence.)
Thank you.
We all understand, and I understand how unbearably hard it is now for the wives, sons, daughters of the fallen soldiers, their parents, who raised worthy defenders of the Fatherland – the same as the young guards of Krasnodon, like the boys and girls who during the Great Patriotic War fought against Nazism, defended the Donbass. All of Russia today remembers their courage, steadfastness, the greatest fortitude, sacrifice.
Our duty is to support families that have lost their relatives, loved ones, help them raise, raise their children, give them an education and a profession. The family of each participant in a special military operation should be in the zone of constant attention, surrounded by care and honor. Their needs must be responded to immediately, without red tape.
I propose to create a special state fund. Its task will be targeted, personal assistance to the families of fallen soldiers and veterans of the special military operation. He will coordinate the provision of social, medical, psychological support, resolve issues of sanatorium treatment and rehabilitation, help in education, sports, employment, entrepreneurship, advanced training, and in obtaining a new profession. A separate most important task of the foundation is the organization of long-term care at home, high-tech prosthetics for everyone who needs it.
I ask the Government, together with the State Council Commission on Social Policy, the regions, to resolve all organizational issues as soon as possible.
The work of the state fund should be open, and the procedure for providing assistance should be simple, on the principle of “one window”, without treasury and bureaucracy. For each family, I emphasize, for each family of the deceased, for each veteran, there should be assigned a personal social worker, a coordinator who, in the course of personal communication in real time, will resolve emerging issues. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that already this year the fund’s structures should be deployed in all regions of the Russian Federation.
We already have measures to support veterans of the Great Patriotic War, combat veterans, and participants in local conflicts. I think that in the future the state fund, which I mentioned, can also deal with these important issues. We need to work it out, and I ask the Government to do it.
Let me emphasize that the creation of a special fund does not remove responsibility from other structures and levels of power. I expect all federal departments, regions and municipalities to continue to pay close attention to veterans, military personnel, and their families. And in this regard, I want to thank the leaders of the subjects of the Federation, mayors of cities, heads of regions, who constantly meet with people, go to the line of contact, and support their fellow countrymen.
What would you like to highlight in particular? Today, professional servicemen, mobilized and volunteers endure the hardships of the front together – we are talking about supplies and equipment, about monetary allowances and insurance payments in connection with the wound, about medical care. However, the appeals that come to me and to the governors – they also report to me about this – to the military prosecutor’s office, to the Commissioner for Human Rights, indicate that far from all these issues have been resolved yet. It is necessary to understand in each specific case.
And one more thing: service in the zone of a special military operation – everyone understands this very well – is associated with colossal physical and psychological stress, with everyday risks to health and life. Therefore, I consider it necessary to establish for the mobilized, in general for all military personnel, for all participants in a special military operation, including volunteers, regular leave lasting at least 14 days and at least once every six months, excluding travel time, so that each soldier I had the opportunity to visit families, to be close to relatives and friends.
Dear Colleagues!
As you know, we have approved a plan for the construction and development of the Armed Forces for 2021-2025 by Presidential Decree. Work on its implementation is underway, the necessary adjustments are being made. And I would like to emphasize that our further steps to strengthen the army and navy and the current and prospective development of the Armed Forces must, of course, be based on real combat experience gained during a special military operation. It is extremely important to us, one might even say, absolutely priceless.
Now, for example, the level of equipping Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces with the latest systems is more than 91 percent, 91.3 percent. And now, I repeat, taking into account the experience we have gained, we must reach the same high quality level in all components of the Armed Forces.
Officers and sergeants who have shown themselves to be competent, modern and decisive commanders – there are a lot of them – will be promoted to higher positions as a matter of priority, sent to military universities and academies, and serve as a powerful personnel reserve for the Armed Forces. And, of course, they should be in demand in the civilian population, in government at all levels. I just want to draw the attention of colleagues to this. It is very important. People must understand that the Motherland appreciates their contribution to the defense of the Fatherland.
We will actively introduce the most advanced technologies that will ensure an increase in the qualitative potential of the army and navy. We have such developments, samples of weapons and equipment in each direction. Many of them are significantly superior to their foreign counterparts in their specifications. The task now before us is to deploy their mass, mass production.
And this work is in progress, ongoing, its pace is constantly increasing, and on our own, I want to emphasize this, on our own, Russian scientific and industrial base, due to the active involvement of small and medium-sized high-tech businesses in the implementation of the state defense order.
Today, our factories, design bureaus, and research teams employ both experienced specialists and more and more young people, talented, qualified, committed to a breakthrough, faithful to the traditions of Russian gunsmiths – to do everything for victory.
We will certainly strengthen guarantees for labor collectives. This also applies to salaries and social security. I propose launching a special program of preferential rental housing for employees of defense industry enterprises. The rental rate for them will be significantly lower than the market rate, since a significant part of the housing payment will be covered by the state.
We certainly discussed this issue with the Government. I instruct you to work out all the details of this program and, without delay, start building such rental housing, primarily, of course, in cities – our significant defense, industrial and research centers.
Dear Colleagues!
As I have already said, the West has deployed not only a military, informational, but also an economic front against us. But nowhere has he achieved anything and never will. Moreover, the initiators of the sanctions are punishing themselves: they provoked price increases, job losses, plant closures, an energy crisis in their own countries, and they say to their citizens – we hear this – they say that the Russians are to blame for everything.
What means were used against us in this sanctions aggression? They tried to break economic ties with Russian companies, disconnect the financial system from communication channels in order to crush our economy, deprive us of access to export markets in order to hit incomes. This is the theft – there is no other way to say – our foreign exchange reserves, attempts to collapse the ruble and provoke destructive inflation.
I repeat, anti-Russian sanctions are just a means. And the goal, as the Western leaders themselves declare – a direct quote – is to “make suffering” our citizens. “Make suffer” – such humanists. They want to make the people suffer, thereby destabilizing our society from within.
But their calculation did not materialize – the Russian economy and management system turned out to be much stronger than the West believed. Thanks to the joint work of the Government, Parliament, the Bank of Russia, the constituent entities of the Federation and, of course, the business community, labor collectives, we ensured the stability of the economic situation, protected citizens, saved jobs, prevented a shortage in the market, including essential goods, supported the financial system, entrepreneurs who invest in the development of their business, and therefore in the development of the country.
So, already in March last year, a package of measures to support business and the economy was launched for a total amount of about a trillion rubles. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this is not an issuance policy, no, no, everything is being done on a solid market basis.
At the end of 2022, the gross domestic product decreased. Mikhail Vladimirovich called and said: I would like you to tell me about it. Yesterday, in my opinion, this information came out, and rightly so, on time, as expected, everything is according to plan.
We were predicted, remember, economic recession of 20-25 percent, ten. More recently, we said: 2.9 – I said. A little later – 2.5. Gross domestic product fell 2.1 percent in 2022, the most recent data. At the same time, let me remind you that back in February-March of last year, as I said, they predicted that we would simply collapse the economy.
Russian business has rebuilt logistics, strengthened ties with responsible, predictable partners – and there are many of them, most of them in the world.
I would like to note that the share of the Russian ruble in our international settlements doubled compared to December 2021 and amounted to one third, and together with the currencies of friendly countries, this is already more than half.
Together with our partners, we will continue to work on the formation of a stable, secure system of international settlements, independent of the dollar and other Western reserve currencies, which, with such a policy of Western elites and Western rulers, will inevitably lose their universal character. They do everything with their own hands. It is not we who reduce settlements in dollars or in other so-called universal currencies – they do everything with their own hands.
You know, there is such a stable expression: guns instead of butter. The defense of the country is, of course, the most important priority, but while solving strategic tasks in this area, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past, we must not destroy our own economy. We have everything to ensure security and create conditions for the country’s confident development. It is in this logic that we act and will continue to act.
For example, many basic, I would like to stress that it is the civilian sectors of the domestic economy, not only did not reduce, but significantly increased production over the past year. For the first time in the modern history of our country, housing commissioning volumes exceeded 100 million square meters.
As for our agricultural production, last year it showed double-digit growth rates. Thank you very much, low bow to agricultural producers. Russian farmers have harvested a record harvest: over 150 million tons of grain, including over 100 million tons of wheat. By the end of the agricultural year, that is, by June 30, 2023, we will be able to bring the total volume of grain exports to 5,560 million tons.
Even 10-15 years ago it seemed just a fairy tale, an absolutely unrealistic plan. If you remember – and certainly some here remember, the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture is here – not so long ago, we collected 60 million in general – for the year, and now there will be 55–60 only for export potential. I am convinced that we have every opportunity for a similar breakthrough in other areas.
We have not allowed a drawdown in the labor market; on the contrary, we have achieved a reduction in unemployment in modern conditions. Today, in the face of such great difficulties on all sides, the labor market has become more comfortable for us than it was before. Remember, before the pandemic, unemployment was 4.7 percent, and now it is 3.7, in my opinion. Mikhail Vladimirovich, how much is 3.7? 3.7 is a historical low.
I repeat, the Russian economy has overcome the risks that have arisen – it has overcome it. Yes, many of these risks were impossible to calculate in advance, we had to respond literally from the wheels, as problems arose. Both at the state level and in business, decisions were made as quickly as possible. I would like to note that private initiative, small and medium-sized businesses have played a huge role here – this should not be forgotten. We have avoided excessive administrative regulation, the bias of the economy towards the state.
What else is important? The economic downturn last year was recorded only in the second quarter – already in the third and fourth quarters, growth and recovery were noted. We have actually entered a new cycle of economic growth. According to experts, its model and structure acquire a qualitatively different character. New and promising global markets are coming to the fore, including the Asia-Pacific [Asia-Pacific region], our own domestic market, scientific, technological, human resources: not the supply of raw materials abroad, but the production of goods with high added value. This makes it possible to unleash the enormous potential of Russia in all spheres and areas.
Already this year, a solid increase in domestic demand is predicted. I am sure that our companies will take advantage of this opportunity to increase production, produce the most demanded products, and occupy niches that have been vacated or are being vacated after the departure of Western companies.
Today we see the whole picture, we understand the structural problems that we need to solve in logistics, technology, finance, and personnel. We have been talking a lot and constantly about the need to change the structure of our economy in recent years, and now these changes are a vital necessity, and this is changing the situation, and in this case for the better. We know what needs to be done for the steady progressive development of Russia, and specifically sovereign, independent development, despite any external pressure and threats, with a reliable guarantee of the security and interests of the state.
I draw your attention and want to emphasize this in particular: the point of our work is not to adapt to the current conditions. The strategic task is to bring our economy to new frontiers. Now everything is changing, and changing very, very quickly. This is a time of not only challenges, but also opportunities – today this is true, and our future life depends on how we implement them. It is necessary to remove – I want to emphasize this – to remove any interdepartmental contradictions, formalities, insults, omissions, other nonsense. Everything for the cause, everything for the result – everything should be aimed at this.
The successful start of Russian companies, small family businesses is already a victory. The opening of modern factories and kilometers of new roads is a victory. A new school or kindergarten is a victory. Scientific discoveries and technologies are, of course, also a victory. Everyone’s contribution to the overall success is what matters.
In what areas should the partnership work of the state, regions, domestic business be focused?
First. We will expand promising foreign economic relations and build new logistics corridors. A decision has already been made to extend the Moscow-Kazan expressway to Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Tyumen, and in the future to Irkutsk and Vladivostok with access to Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, which, among other things, will significantly expand our economic ties with the markets of Southeast Asia.
We will develop the ports of the Black and Azov Seas. We will pay special attention – we are already paying it, those who do it on a daily basis know – we will pay special attention to the North-South international corridor. Already this year, vessels with a draft of at least 4.5 meters will be able to pass through the Volga-Caspian Canal. This will open up new routes for business cooperation with India, Iran, Pakistan and the countries of the Middle East. We will continue to develop this corridor.
Our plans include the accelerated modernization of the eastern direction of the railways, the Trans-Siberian Railway and the BAM, and the expansion of the capabilities of the Northern Sea Route. This is not only additional cargo traffic, but also the basis for solving national problems for the development of Siberia, the Arctic and the Far East.
The infrastructure of the regions, the development of infrastructure, including communications, telecommunications, and the road network, will receive a powerful impetus. Already next year, in 2024, at least 85 percent of the roads in the largest agglomerations of the country, as well as more than half of the roads of regional and intermunicipal significance, will be brought to a standard state. I’m sure we’ll do it.
We will continue the free gasification program. A decision has already been made to extend it to social facilities: kindergartens and schools, clinics, hospitals, feldsher and obstetric stations. And for citizens, such a program will now operate on an ongoing basis: they will always be able to apply for connection to gas supply networks.
This year, a large program for the construction and repair of housing and communal services begins. Within ten years, it is planned to invest at least 4.5 trillion rubles in this area. We know how important this is for citizens, how neglected this area is – we need to work, and we will do it. It is important that the program immediately get a strong start, so I ask the Government to ensure its stable funding.
Second. We will have to significantly expand the technological capabilities of the Russian economy and ensure the growth of the capacities of the domestic industry.
An industrial mortgage tool has been launched, and now it will be possible to take a soft loan not only for the purchase of production facilities, but also for their construction or modernization. The amount of such a loan was discussed many times and they wanted to increase it, a decent amount, as a first step – very good: the amount of such a loan is up to 500 million rubles. It is available at a rate of three or five percent for up to seven years. It seems to me a very good program, and it should be used.
Starting this year, a new mode of operation of industrial clusters has also been in effect, in which the fiscal and administrative burden on resident companies has been reduced, and the demand for their innovative products, which are just entering the market, is supported by long-term orders and subsidies from the state.
According to estimates, these measures should ensure the implementation of demanded projects in the amount of more than ten trillion rubles by 2030, and already this year the expected amount of investments may be about two trillion. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that these are not just forecasts, but clearly established benchmarks.
Therefore, I ask the Government to speed up the launch of these projects as much as possible, lend a shoulder to business, and offer systemic support measures, including tax incentives. I know how the financial bloc does not like to provide benefits, and I partly share the following position: the taxation system should be integral, without any niches, exceptions, but a creative approach in this case is in demand.
So, starting this year, Russian companies can reduce income tax payments if they purchase advanced domestic IT solutions and products using artificial intelligence. Moreover, these costs are taken into account with an increased coefficient, one and a half times more than the actual costs. That is, for every ruble invested by the company in the purchase of such products, which I just mentioned, there is a tax deduction of one and a half rubles.
I propose extending this tax benefit to the purchase of Russian high-tech equipment in general. I ask the Government to make proposals on a list of such equipment by industry in which it is used and on the procedure for granting benefits. This is a good decision that will revive the economy.
Third. The most important issue on the agenda for the development of economic growth is new sources of investment financing, we also talk about this a lot.
Thanks to a strong balance of payments, Russia does not need to borrow abroad, bow down, beg for money and then have a long dialogue about what, how much and under what conditions to give. Domestic banks operate stably and steadily, have a solid margin of safety.
In 2022, the volume of bank loans to the corporate sector has grown, you know, it has grown. There were many fears about this, but growth has been recorded, and it has grown by 14 percent, which is more than in 2021, without any military operation. In 2021, the growth was 11.7 percent, and now it is 14 percent. The mortgage portfolio also added 20.4 percent. Development is underway.
As a result of last year, the banking sector as a whole worked with a profit. Yes, it is not as big as in previous years, but decent: profit – 203 billion rubles. This is also an indicator of the stability of the Russian financial sector.
According to estimates, already in the second quarter of this year, inflation in Russia will approach the target level of four percent. Let me remind you that in some EU countries it is already 12, 17, 20 percent, we have four, well, five – the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance are sorting out among themselves, but it will be closer to the target indicator. Taking into account the positive dynamics of this and other macroeconomic parameters, objective conditions are being formed for reducing long-term lending rates in the economy, which means that credit for the real sector should become more accessible.
There are a lot of people out there talking about «The Great Reset.» It is also known as the «Liberal World Order», and it can also refer to a conspiracy theory called New World Order. The term «Great Reset» comes from the World Economic Forum and Klaus Schwab.
Scwab wrote the preface to a 2010 report of the World Economic Forum`s «Global Redesign Initiative», which postulates that a globalized world is best managed by more vital multinational institutions.
According to the Transnational Institute (TNI), the WEF is planning to replace a recognized democratic model with a model where a self-selected group of «stakeholders» makes decisions on behalf of the people.
The think tank summarises that we are increasingly entering a world where gatherings such as Davos are «a silent global coup d`etat» to capture governance.
Naomi Klein, in a December 2020 article in The Intercept, described the WEF idea as a «Great Reset Conspiracy Smoothie.»
She said that it was simply a «coronavirus-themed rebranding» of things that the WEF was already doing and that it was an attempt by the rich to make themselves look good. Klein wrote that Schwab had given each meeting at Davos a theme since 2003. «The Great Reset is merely the latest edition of this gilded tradition, barely distinguishable from earlier Davos Big Ideas.
According to Klaus Schwab who wrote the book «The Great Reset,» the Great Reset Initiative is an economic recovery plan drawn up by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project was launched in June 2020, with a video featuring the then Prince of Wales Charles released to mark its launch. The initiative`s state aim is to facilitate rebuilding from the global COVID-19 crisis in a way that prioritizes sustainable development.
WEF chief executive officer Klaus Schwab described three core components of the Great Reset: creating conditions for a «stakeholder economy», building in a more «resilient, equitable, and sustainable» way, utilizing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics; and «harness(ing) the innovations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.»
IMF`s director Kristalina Georgieva listed three key aspects of a sustainable response to COVID-19: green growth, smarter growth, and fairer growth.
«The Great Reset» was to be the theme of the 2021 WEF annual summit in Davos, scheduled for January 2021. Due to disruption from COVID-19, the summit was postponed to May 2021.
The Davos 2022 theme was «History at a Turning Point,» and the summit was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So, the war in Ukraine is not only about the survival of Ukraine, but about the whole International world order.
The WEF sees opportunities and has this to say on its website: «As we enter a unique window of opportunity to shape the recovery, this initiative will offer insights to help inform all those determining the future of global relations, the direction of national economies, the priorities of societies, the nature of business models and the management of a global commons.
Drawing from the vision and vast expertise of the leaders engaged across the Forum`s communities, the Great Reset initiative has a set of dimensions to build a new social contract that honors the dignity of every human being.»
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