Streetwise Professor

Putin gave his annual Presidential address today. It was the by now familiar combination of anti-American paranoia, historical fiction, hyper-nationalism, and economic idiocy.

The most notable thing about the speech is how much in Putins head the US is. Everything that ails Russia originates in the US. A sample:

Speaking of the sanctions, they are not just a knee-jerk reaction on behalf of the United States or its allies to our position regarding the events and the coup in Ukraine, or even the so-called Crimean Spring. I’m sure that if these events had never happened – I want to point this out specifically for you as politicians sitting in this auditorium – if none of that had ever happened, they would have come up with some other excuse to try to contain Russia’s growing capabilities, affect our country in some way, or even take advantage of it.

The policy of containment was not invented yesterday. It has been carried out against our country for many years, always, for decades, if not centuries. In short, whenever someone thinks that Russia has become too strong or independent, these tools are quickly put into use.

However, talking to Russia from a position of force is an exercise in futility, even when it was faced with domestic hardships, as in the 1990ies and early 2000ies.

We remember well how and who, almost openly, supported separatism back then and even outright terrorism in Russia, referred to murderers, whose hands were stained with blood, none other than rebels and organised high-level receptions for them. These “rebels” showed up in Chechnya again. I’m sure the local guys, the local law enforcement authorities, will take proper care of them. They are now working to eliminate another terrorist raid. Let’s support them.

Let me reiterate, we remember high-level receptions for terrorists dubbed as fighters for freedom and democracy. Back then, we realised that the more ground we give and the more excuses we make, the more our opponents become brazen and the more cynical and aggressive their demeanour becomes.

Despite our unprecedented openness back then and our willingness to cooperate in all, even the most sensitive issues, despite the fact that we considered – and all of you are aware of this and remember it – our former adversaries as close friends and even allies, the support for separatism in Russia from across the pond, including information, political and financial support and support provided by the special services – was absolutely obvious and left no doubt that they would gladly let Russia follow the Yugoslav scenario of disintegration and dismemberment. With all the tragic fallout for the people of Russia.

In Leninist terms, the US is Who, Russia is Whom.  The object, not the subject. Putin even blames the US for Chechen terrorism. The last paragraph is a great example of Putin’s historical distortions. In fact, the US was deathly afraid of a chaotic, Yugoslavia-like break up of a nation with thousands of nukes and massive stocks of chemical weapons: recall that Bush I even opposed the breakup of the USSR, let alone Russia.

The irony, of course, is that whereas Putin (and Russians generally) imagins that every American goes to bed at night and wakes every morning scheming to subjugate Russia and rob it of its riches, the truth is that 99+ percent of all Americans couldn’t care less about it. That’s a truth Putin and other Russians just can’t handle. So they construct this alternate reality in which the US is obsessed with Russia.

The cooperation on “the most sensitive issues” that Putin’s mentions involved mainly the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which involved the US spending billions of dollars in Russia to secure nukes. Moreover, the Russian Federation assumed the USSR’s Security Council seat (with its veto), and was admitted to international organizations such as the G-8 for which it was manifestly unqualified.

Putin’s historical revisionism did not stop there. He elevated Crimea to a central-indeed holy-place in Russian history:

All of this allows us to say that Crimea, the ancient Korsun or Chersonesus, and Sevastopol have invaluable civilisational and even sacral importance for Russia, like the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for the followers of Islam and Judaism.

The equation of Crimea to the Temple Mount is, well, original. It is bizarre that Putin makes the “Temple Mount” sacral for Muslims, and puts them ahead of Jews. Yes, al Aqsa mosque is on what the Jews (with abundant historical and archeological support) claim to be the site of their Temple, but Islam’s veneration of the site has nothing to do with it being the “Temple Mount”, and indeed, there is an active campaign to deny that this was the site of the Jewish temple.

A good rule for reading the speech is to play the opposite game: take what Putin says, and interpret it the opposite way. There are far too many cases of this to cover them all, so I’ll just mention a couple of the greatest hits:

• “We will tell the truth to people abroad, so that everyone can see the real and not distorted and false image of Russia.” (That’s what RT does, for sure!)
• “We will actively promote business and humanitarian relations, as well as scientific, education and cultural relations.” (Tell to the “foreign agent” NGOs, the British Counsel, etc.)
• “We will do this even if some governments attempt to create a new iron curtain around Russia.”
• “We will never enter the path of self-isolation, xenophobia, suspicion and the search for enemies.” (My favorite, by far. Every word an inversion of the truth. This is the official Russian government translation. The New York Times quotes Putin as saying “paranoia” instead of “self-isolation, xenophobia.” Either way, pure gold.)
• “The most important thing now is to give the people an opportunity for self-fulfilment. Freedom for development in the economic and social spheres, for public initiatives is the best possible response both to any external restrictions and to our domestic problems.” (Look at the rising flight of Russians to points west, because the opportunity for self-fulfillment in Russia is minimal.)
• “Conscientious work, private property, the freedom of enterprise – these are the same kind of fundamental conservative values as patriotism, and respect for the history, traditions, and culture of one’s country.” (Yeah. Russia. The land of private property and free enterprise.)
• “Finally, it’s crucial to abandon the basic principle of total, endless control.”

I could go on. And on. And on.

Some commentary I read said that Putin did not mention anti-corruption efforts, but this isn’t true. He did, but very obliquely:

A huge economic reserve is lying on the surface. It is enough to look at government-financed construction projects to see this. At a recent forum of the Russian Popular Front, examples were cited of funds being invested in grandiose buildings or the construction costs of same-type – I want to emphasise this point – facilities, differing several times over, even in neighbouring regions.

I believe that it is necessary to phase in a system of a single technical contracting authority, and centralise the preparation of standard projects, construction documentation and the choice of subcontractors. This will make it possible to overcome the existing disparity in construction costs and ensure significant saving of public funds spent on capital construction projects, between 10 percent and 20 percent. This practice should be extended to all civil construction projects financed from the federal budget. I instruct the Government to submit relevant proposals.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister and I discussed this topic. Of course, there are some pitfalls here, and knowing what they are, it is important to avoid them, move with caution, implement several pilot projects in several regions and see what happens.

However, leaving the situation as it is today is no longer an option. As I said earlier, construction costs of similar facilities in neighbouring regions differ many times over. What is this?

Diversion or embezzlement of budget funds allocated for federal defence contracts should be treated as a direct threat to national security and dealt with seriously and severely, as in the suppression of the financing of terrorism. I mention this for a reason.

I don’t think there is anything to hide or gloss over here. We have just held our traditional meeting in Sochi under the leadership of the Defence Ministry, combat arms and services commanders and leading defence company designers.

On certain positions, prices double, triple or quadruple, and in one case they grew 11 times. You realise that this has nothing to do with inflation or with anything, considering that practically 100 percent of funding is provided in advance.

In other words, state construction projections and defense contracting are rife with corruption. But Vlad has it under control. He has decreed more intensive oversight of contracting. That’s never been tried before, surely, and just as surely will work like a charm.

Putin acknowledged the fraught economic situation, including the Ruble’s decline. In that fine demagogic tradition, he rounded up the usual suspects: speculators:

Today we are faced with reduced foreign exchange proceeds and, as a consequence, with a weaker national currency, the ruble. As you are aware, the Bank of Russia has switched to a “floating” exchange rate, but this does not mean that the Bank of Russia has withdrawn from controlling the exchange rate, and that the ruble may now be the object of unchecked financial speculation.

I’d like to ask the Bank of Russia and the Government to carry out tough and concerted actions to discourage the so-called speculators from playing on fluctuations of the Russian currency. In this regard, I’d like to point out that the authorities know who these speculators are. We have the proper instruments of influence, and the time is ripe to use them.

At this point, Central Bank head Nabiullina was probably looking for sharp objects to jab into her carotid artery. The “proper instruments of influence”-presumably burning reserves to buy Rubles and hiking interest rates-will dent Russia’s reserves and hammer its already reeling economy.

Hilariously, the moment Putin mentioned the Ruble, it resumed its inexorable decline, going from 52.65 before he opened his mouth to 54.45 (more than 3 percent) by the end of the trading day.

Putin recognized the inflationary impact of the Ruble’s decline, but he has a solution! Controlling prices:

Of course, a weaker ruble increases the risk of a short-term surge in inflation. It’s imperative that we protect the interests of our people, first and foremost, those with low incomes, and the Government and the regions must ensure control over the situation on the food, medicine and other basic goods markets. I’m sure this can be done without any problem, and it must be done.

Yes. It can be done “without any problem,” just like it has been since Diocletian.

Putin also mentioned capital flight, and proposed a complete amnesty to those repatriating their money, no matter how dirty it is:

Of course, it is essential to explain to the people who will make these decisions what full amnesty means. It means that if a person legalises his holdings and property in Russia, he will receive firm legal guarantees that he will not be summoned to various agencies, including law enforcement agencies, that they will not “put the squeeze” on him, that he will not be asked about the sources of his capital and methods of its acquisition, that he will not be prosecuted or face administrative liability, and that he will not be questioned by the tax service or law enforcement agencies. Let’s do this now, but only once. Everyone who wants to come to Russia should be given this opportunity.

We all understand that the sources of assets are different, that they were earned or acquired in various ways. However, I am confident that we should finally close, turn the “offshore page” in the history of our economy and our country. It is very important and necessary to do this.

Somehow I doubt that anyone who spirited any ill-gotten gains-or even honestly-gotten gains-out of Russia will put much faith in those assurances, so don’t look for the money to start flowing east anytime soon.

The last half of the speech focused on economics, and presented a laundry list of goals without anything resembling even an outline of how to achieve them. Productivity growth, diversifying the economy, import substitution, high tech exports, and on and on and on. But unless Putin gets some ruby slippers or finds a genie who grants unlimited wishes, none of this is going to happen. This part of  the speech was just another spin of Putin’s Hamster Wheel From Hell.

Nothing in the speech should be a surprise. Putin has no economic ideas, and just repeats the same nostrums year after year after year. In foreign policy, he is doubling down on truculence and confrontation. In other words, stagnation at home and aggression abroad. The foreign adventures will rest on a crumbling economic foundation. Collapse is inevitable. The only problem is that Putin can wreak much havoc and inflict much harm before the inevitable occurs.