Dear friends,
Do I have a treat for your today!!
The famous Russian economist Mikhail Khazin has agreed to participate in a Q&A with the readers of this blog. Here how this will work: during all of next week (until Friday the 24th 6PM GMT), you will have the possibility to submit questions to Mr Khazin. Then the Russian Saker Blog Team and myself will select the best ones and submit them to Mr Khazin, who will email us his answers which we will translate and post here. A couple of important points:
1. There are no restrictions on topics – you can ask any question you want on any topic.
2. You can ask questions in English or in Russian
3. You can ask anonymously, but please choose a alias/nickname but
4. Please truthfully indicate the city or, at least, country from which you are writing (for Mr Khazin’s own interest)
5. Write concisely and clearly, no more than one paragraph.
Guys, Mikhail Khazin is really one of the best informed people in Russia. Not only does he know Russian economics, he has first hand and deep knowledge of Kremlin politics and the behind the scenes battles between what I call Atlantic Integrationists and Eurasian Sovereignists. Khazin knows Putin personally and well. In other words – this is a golden opportunity, so please use it the best you can!
The Saker
PS: for those who might not be familiar with Mikhail Khazin, here is his biography, translated for you by the Russian Saker Team to whom I express my deepest gratitude.
PPS: please do not email me but post your questions here
Biography of Mikhail Khazin:
Mikhail Khazin was born in 1962 in Moscow. He completed his comprehensive study of mathematics in Moscow. For the next 10 years he ran mathematics workshops in various schools and taught students of math-stream classes. After failing to gain admission to the Mechanics and Mathematics faculty at Moscow State University (due to ethnic profiling existing at the time), he enrolled in the Mathematics faculty at Yaroslavl University. In 1980 he transferred to the Probability Theory Department of the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty at Moscow State University.
After graduating from the university in 1984, M. Khazin worked in the Laboratory of Computational Mathematics at the USSR Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physical Chemistry. In 1989 he was employed at the USSR Central Statistical Directorate’s Institute for Statistics and Economic Research. In 1992, together with his friends and former students, M. Khazin worked as a head of Analytics Department in one of the then-biggest banks of Russia, ELBIM-Bank.
In 1993 M. Khazin entered public office. He worked first for the Labour Centre for Economic Reforms, created by Yegor Gaidar with the purpose of theoretically justifying the reforms, then in the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Economy under the ministers A. Shokhin and later E. Yasin. Meanwhile, divisive issues with the so-called Gaidar-team started emerging, in that there was increasing evidence of embezzlement of government funds, sabotage and unabashed corruption on the part of the Gaidar team.
In March of 1997 M. Khazin became a Deputy Chief of the Economic Directorate at the Presidential Administration. In June of 1998 he was discharged from public service for attempting to fight corruption during the privatization (in other words, for standing up against the Summers-Chubais team) and to avert governmental policies that led to the default of 1998. Khazin was unemployed for 2 years and for the next 10 years he was not permitted to leave Russian territory.
Since the summer of 2000 Khazin has been employed as a consultant. On September 10, 2001, when participating in the Expert journal’s forum and analyzing the economic situation in the United States, he foresaw a high likelihood of large-scale terrorist attacks organized by the U.S. authorities to explain the deterioration of the economic situation in the country. M. Khazin and his associates at the time elaborated the theory of modern economic crisis. At the beginning of 2002 Khazin published a paper dedicated to the basics of structural crisis in the USA which outlined the scale of the current crisis. 2004 saw the publication of the book ‘The Decline of the Dollar Empire and the End of Pax Americana’, written in 2003 in collaboration with A. Kobyakov.
Since 2002 M. Khazin has been the President of the consulting company Neokon, which mainly specializes in strategic crisis planning. He actively investigates economic theory within a framework of enhanced understanding of modern economic mechanisms that are figuratively and collectively referred to as neoconomics. At present M. Khazin takes a principal interest in studying the structural proportions of post-crisis economics and prices. A number of his articles and interviews about economic problems have been featured in various media.
Fantastic! Many thanks for this Saker.
My question-
Does the Russian leadership believe that a graceful collapse of the Dollar Empire is possible (the ‘other boot’ to the relatively ‘graceful’ collapse of the CCCP (well, no nukes went off- a good thing in my opinion), is this something they feel should occur, do they believe they can make this happen, is it a goal of theirs, and if so do they feel any progress is being made toward this goal? (make of my term Dollar Empire as you wish, interested in your interpretation of the term however).
Also I’d like to know if he feels the Eurasianist faction in Russia is on the ascension, and how he feels about the seemingly strong presence of rightwing and naziesque politics in Russia in the face of the (what I understand to be) the multi-ethnic world view of Eurasianist thought, why are do many Ultra-Rightwing Nationalists, Anti-Semites and various other Nazi’ish types seem to think Russia speaks for them (on the comment boxes of the internet anyway, which is puzzling me considering the Ultra-Rightwing position in Ukraine).
Many thanks for your indulgence.:)
Lonkal from London.
Excellent.
Okay for me (name is Luka, Croatia/Zagreb)
What is the situation and tempo of investments into roads and railroads in Russia? Russia spends 5x more per kilometer on road construction than average EU country, for instance. It is obvious middle and regional administration is to blame, pocketing the money themselves. Does not anyone care that Russia needs 1 trillion ( thousand billion ) $ to bring up entire state inf. up to western level?
An article featured in the Washington Post written by a Georgetown professor shows acceptance of Novorossia’s defacto existance as a new nation:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/09/16/ukraines-breakaway-region-is-becoming-a-de-facto-country/
Dear Mr. Khazin and Saker,
Can Russia and China break the West’s gold shorting scam as retaliation for the openly admitted Western-Saudi economic warfare to drive down the ruble and oil price?
My question is related to a subject Mr. Khazin may be aware is drawing a great deal of interest in the Western alternative media and among Westerners preparing for the decline of all fiat currencies by purchasing gold and silver.
How strong is the possibility that Russia could, together with China, retaliate for years of naked gold short selling through manipulation of paper contracts that former President Reagan Deputy Treasury Secretary Dr. Paul Craig Roberts and others have pointed out is used to prop up the United States Dollar and Western allied-currencies against the threat of greater depreciation versus gold? In particular, is there any serious likelihood Russia and China could coordinate to take delivery of large quantities of physical gold at the newly opened Shanghai Gold Exchange in order to create an arbitrage between the fake, naked short created paper gold price on the COMEX London market and in Shanghai, resulting in the end of the COMEX as a serious vehicle for gold price discovery that the central bankers can manipulate? (In other words, breaking the West’s quasi-monopoly on ‘price discovery’ in the precious metals market, of which Russia and China are the world-leading producers).
For many years gold analysts like Dr. Jim Willie and ‘King World News’ have suggested Russia and China have been willing to tolerate the Western manipulation of gold because this has created a fantastic buying opportunity for Russia and China to stockpile the strategic metals at a huge discount. But with the COMEX price being below the Russian if not Chinese mining cost of production at what point do Moscow and Beijing defend their long term gold mining interests (eg Magadan miners in Russian Far East) and corporations from predatory undercutting? And does Moscow economic elite see the gold price as an Anglo-American weak spot, to hit back at the West for trying to drag down the ruble and the oil price to punish Russia for alleged ‘interference in Ukraine’?
Thank you for addressing a question that ZeroHedge and many other important websites in the West have been very focused on for a long time.
James – USA
Heather, Texas/US
Many thanks for doing this. One thing we don’t hear about in the West is Russian views on the production of energy, especially in regards to climate change and the current rush to renewables. What are his views on these issues as an economist?
Heather, Texas/US
Many thanks for doing this. One thing we don’t hear about in the West is Russian views on the production of energy, especially in regards to climate change and the current rush to renewables. What are his views on these issues as an economist?
Question: Mexico
How does Mexico fit into your geostrategic thinking?
Thank you.
Greetings from Princeton, NJ
I am interested in all things pertaining to the Russian Central Bank. Who owns it or controls it and who gets the profits? Is there an adversarial relationship between the CBR and the government? Do foreign iterests have a role to play within it?
As I see it, the bank’s ability to inject liquidity into the Russian economy (as the war between the dollar vs the rest of the world’s currencies heats up) is of vital importance for the independent development of Russian infrastructure.
Any insights into this (obscure to me) topic would be most welcome.
A question to Mr.Mikhail Khazin :
As a Canadian citizen with much interest into world affairs visa vi economics and politics ,what do you think of the possibility of a future new world order in the offing , of a meeting of the West and the East ,birthing a new system where capitalism and communism could merge into a new world state of being .Peace at last !
Thank you for considering this topic.
Guy St Hilaire
My opinion: I believe the American economy is based mainly on the dollar as a global reserve currency.
Question/s: 1)What will it happen to the American economy in case the dollar ceases to exist as the global reserve currency?
2)If this happens, a) which currency might replace the dollar?
b)How the US might react to that?
c)What will be the status of the euro in that case?
Thanks, kind regards.
Greetings from Luxembourg
Question to Mr. Mikhail Khazin:
Considering the large differences between Russian and Chinese traditional worldviews (both of which are mostly unknown in the West) what sort of evolution do you foresee after 2020?
Thank you for accepting our questions.
Bienvenidos a Colombia,
How will Russia deal with with the inevitable backlash from the USSA, due to building relationships with latin american countries, deemed client states by the US?
Gracias
Bienvenidos a Colombia,
How will Russia deal with with the inevitable backlash from the USSA, due to building relationships with latin american countries, deemed client states by the US?
Gracias
My question to Mr Khazin.
Many people, Saker included, stated that Merkel seems to bow to political orders from Washington, and, partly at least, this is true.
However, Germany (also via the EU) was herself a major player in the Maidan thing, and was critical in enforcing euro-sanctions on Russia, actually compelling some recalcitrant partners. In last days in Milan Merkel was by far the main opponent for Putin.
We all know that she must own some mysterious power, as she always gets her way. This is not difficult with Countries like Italy, easy to blackmail, much more, for instance, with Cyprus. Cyprus had nothing to lose in confronting the EU, as they lived of tourism and Russian deposits, and nonetheless they obeyed and committed suicide.
Even now, in Milan, Merkel wrestled important concessions from Putin (reduction of Ukrainian gas debt, a substantial recognition of Donbass as part of Ukraine with little or no autonomy and Franco-German control of the border) in exchange for nothing.
While German firms are loosing money because of their sanctions, Russian counter-sanctions, concerning agriculture, were so aimed as to leave Germany untouched.
I came to believe that Russia has been hypnotized by the Berlin-Beijing Eurasian dreams for too long, and will win back Europe only by applying serious pressure on Germany, and by letting Merkel understand that they are no Cyprus.
Do you agree?
And if so, what economic instruments do you deem appropriate to teach the Germans a lesson?
Tacu from Italy, Reggio Emilia
I’m an ex-South African, now living in Australia.
I lived during Apartheid, and then also the period of transition, when the country was given away to a bunch of Communist terrorists.
This was accomplished by internal and external forces. The internal forces were the liberal agitators at education facilities – where fascists go to indoctrinate other young, gullible adults; as well as by the African National Congress (ANC), with their campaign of terrorism (bombing public spaces; murdering their fellow blacks – who they viewed as “problematic – via necklacing, which then silenced and put the fear of God into the rest; targeting of farmers etc.). The external forces were mostly from western governments (especially the USA and Britain, Sweden) via sanctions (including sport sanctions), and also a campaign by big conglomerates by pulling their companies out of the country and bashing the government at every opportunity. Liberals outside the country also embarked on a campaign against the country by organising protests at universities.
This went on for a long period, mostly in the 1980’s. Our government was also infiltrated by liberals, who, when in power, used all the internal and external “pressure” to convince South Africans that it would be better to hand the country over to the terrorists – the ANC – instead of speaking and negotiating with other black leaders in the country and sorting our problems out ourselves. That would have been too slow and too successful. It was decided by the powers that be, that the country was to be handed over to the ANC, or nothing.
Today South Africa is in a mess and has an emerging dictatorship, a tanking economy (SA just lost their title of biggest African economy), out of control crime, and an unhappy populace still blaming the white people for all their ills (the country is at level 6 for genocide against the whites – hence why I now live in Australia). The liberal agitators and governments responsible for supporting the handover are no where to be seen today (apart from stripping the country’s wealth). Corruption is rife and the country is turning into another African failure.
So, having first hand experience, I can see clearly how the west, led by Marxist/Progressives/fascists, are using the same tactics and recipe on Russia (as they do on Israel and as they did on South Africa) to bring Russia to her knees.
My question is as follows:-
Will Putin be strong enough to resist these types of internal and external forces – which are the same at the end of the day? Will he be clever enough to see that those wanting Russia brought down have infiltrated the country and are using traitors from within to be the troublemakers and cause dissatisfaction among the populace? Will he be strong enough to ride-out the sanctions, all meant to make the locals begin to turn on Putin, as they start to bite economically? When the sports ban comes (as it inevitably will), will he have the courage and wisdom to see what’s being done to his country and keep them informed?
Thanks. LL
Dear Mr Khazin,
Here is my question:
Since 2005 oil production has not increased as more than a tepid pace in spite of consistently high prices, that increase being moreover the result of exploitation of alternative sources (liquid natural gas, biofuel, tight oil) whose potential is limited because of high costs and low energy return on energy invested (EROEI) while classical oil extraction is plateauing. Given that decorrelating oil extraction and global growth is problematic at best, a risk appears that significant global growth would be blocked by physical constraint during the next decades. Materialization of such a constraint would have a very adverse effect on sustenability of indebtment the world over. In light of those risks, what is your view of global economy’s prospects within the next few years for sustained growth / stabilization with neglectible growth / generalized collapse?
Thanks in advance,
Alexis from France
My Question(s):
1) In light of the recent events in the Ukraine and the paradigm of chaos as consistently implemented by the West (US), how is it possible, given the relative awareness of the Russian people, that Atlantcists would still be able to maintain a foothold in Russian politics?
2)Why did it take so long for Russia to mount a media campaign in English to counter the Western government and mainstream media’s narrative and are there plans to expand, given the success of RT?
3) Given Russia’s horrific history with Nazism during World War II, is it true that Russia currently suffers from the Nazism of a small portion of its population? How does Russia respond to this?
Thank you,
Kermit Heartsong,
San Francisco Bay Area,
Author, Ukraine: ZBig’s Grandchessboard & How The West Was Checkmated (debuting November 15th, 2014)
Thank you for this opportunity. I have three questions for Mr. Khazin.
Russia still greatly depends on the energy and raw materials exports. Why Russia hasn’t done more to diversify its national economy, make it more balanced?
Just recently Sergei Glazyev made a speech regarding the financing of Russian economy from domestic sources instead of relying on foreign investment. Could you comment on this?
Why is Russian Central Bank still depending on accumulation of US dollars before issuing Roubles, and if this policy sometimes in the future changes, how will that affect financing of the Russian national economy from domestic sources, such as privately or publicly owned banks?
Thank you.
how about some background on the subject of neoconomics. it’s a new term for me and others as well. maybe some good links for background might help.
Earlier I posted three questions for Mr. Khazin (about diversification of Russian economy, a comment on Mr. Glazyev’s recent speech on financing the economy from the internal sources, and about Russian central bank accumulation of dollars before issuing roubles).
I forgot to write my name and location – Vic from Northern Ireland
I have a very simple question for Mr Mikhail Khazin:
Is it possible and feasible to build a successful economic system that does not rely on usury and compound interest to sustain a world financial system?
For me, it is an important theological requirement that usury and compound interest cannot be used in transactions.
My question:
I think there is a quite widespread “doomer” prejudice against the dollar system which tends to result in an exaggerated negativity regarding the dollar system’s resilience and a naïveté about the ease of replacing it, regardless of whether one still believes it represents an “exorbitant privilege.” One example: serving as reserve currency means running massive trade deficits much of the time, as Yves Smith points out. Is anyone else willing to play this role (or is this really necessary?) Another point she makes: the volume of currency transactions for trade are dwarfed by finance transactions, leaving trade outside the dollar system peripheral to that system. Any thoughts on these attempts to temper the ambitions and expectations of those who welcome the end of the dollar system?
My question:
I think there is a quite widespread “doomer” prejudice against the dollar system which tends to result in an exaggerated negativity regarding the dollar system’s resilience and a naïveté about the ease of replacing it, regardless of whether one still believes it represents an “exorbitant privilege.” One example: serving as reserve currency means running massive trade deficits much of the time, as Yves Smith points out. Is anyone else willing to play this role (or is this really necessary?) Another point she makes: the volume of currency transactions for trade are dwarfed by finance transactions, leaving trade outside the dollar system peripheral to that system. Any thoughts on these attempts to temper the ambitions and expectations of those who welcome the end of the dollar system?
My question:
I think there is a quite widespread “doomer” prejudice against the dollar system which tends to result in an exaggerated negativity regarding the dollar system’s resilience and a naïveté about the ease of replacing it, regardless of whether one still believes it represents an “exorbitant privilege.” One example: serving as reserve currency means running massive trade deficits much of the time, as Yves Smith points out. Is anyone else willing to play this role (or is this really necessary?) Another point she makes: the volume of currency transactions for trade are dwarfed by finance transactions, leaving trade outside the dollar system peripheral to that system. Any thoughts on these attempts to temper the ambitions and expectations of those who welcome the end of the dollar system?
Question is from Canada.
Considering the grip EU has on the countries of the Balkans, both member and non-member states, does Russian leadership envisage the possibility that at least some of these countries could some day join Eurasian union?
Thank you,
Vic, Northern Ireland
Bwahwahwa! That was a good belly-laugh you gave us there, Lime Lite. Poking fun at the nazi nat types who went crawling off to Perth when their 1000-yr reich came tumbling down 1,951 years early. Thanks for the laugh. (For a moment I didn’t realise you had your tongue in your cheek but the over-the-top nature of the rant gave it away.)
Dear Mr. Khazin,
I would like to ask a question about economics.
Many countries in the Western world claim that their system of economics led to better lives for people, and claim that this is why the Eastern Bloc collapsed – because its population saw that the Western capitalist system made most people better off.
However, for much of the 20th century the Soviet Union was self-sufficient in most things, and had relatively little trade with other countries.
In contrast, the Western capitalist system was (and is) deeply involved in exploiting the resources and labour of third-world countries.
Could it be that it was misleading to compare living standards only between the USSR and the USA? Might it make more sense to treat the US and its many “corporate employers” in third-world countries as a single entity, and analyze the living standards of ALL people within this system, even those who do not actually live within the borders of the US?
I would like to know if any such comparison has ever been attempted, and if so, what were the results?
(everyone knows that capitalism increases inequality compared to communism, but it is generally assumed that it’s worth it because it also makes the population richer. But maybe that’s only an illusion caused by hiding most of the “poor” in third-world countries where they are not counted in the statistics)
Thank you,
E (from the GTA, Ontario, Canada)
After WW2 the United States had an opportunity to become a true world leader, i.e. to lead by example toward a truly united world, without wars and without exploitation. Instead, they chose to selfishly follow their own narrow interests while expanding their neo-colonial grip over most of the world.
Next came the EU. There were hopes that perhaps EU would become a nucleus for some kind of world wide unification. Instead, the EU is proving to be the same as US, if not worse, devolving into a neo-feudal construct.
Then we witnessed the rise of China who seems to only care about itself and play it alone.
Now we are witnessing the formation of Eurasian union. Russia, as the largest member of the new union, now has a chance that the US squandered so stupidly. My question is this: instead of building yet another union of nation states, isn’t there something more to strive for in the long run? A type 1 civilisation? Today we do have the resources to provide for every human being on this planet, but the question is will we do so? Could Russia turn out to be that leader?
Vic, Northern Ireland
Dear Saker,
Thanks for this opportunity.
I would like to start phrasing some comments and to proceed to the relevant questions, that hopefuly Khazin and you may want to address.
Lately, members of what seems to be the Russian elite have called for Russia to grasp the opportunity unkindly offered by the Empire to promote the development of Russia, industrially, culturally and even to the point of becoming a beacon for all humankind. Though its generality, I think I know enough of Russia to take these calls seriously. Needless to say, we are participating in the collapse of a civilization, which started 2000 years ago. So, this call is anything but untimely. Pitirim Sorokin somewhere in the multiverse must be smiling and saying “this is what I meant by cycles”, looking at Chizevski sitting by his side! while Kondratiev is dropping water in the samovar, and Kozyrev is watching the stars and telling them, “indeed, this is what my shaman teacher taught me in the gulag”.
Of course, Dugin is somewhat of an inheritor of elements of these traditions.
So, the first question is: whom are the groups participating in the discussions, is it the RAS, Valdai Club, think-tanks,…??
What are the main elements being considered for the proposal?
Are foreigners somewhat allowed to participate at some point in the proposal?
Some remarkable announcement have appeared in Itar Tass, namely that privatization of Gazprom and the war industry is to proceed. As part of the general question, what is the model for the economy being contemplated?
Another topic. Following the latest comments by Medvedev and Navalny, it seems that the AZs are somewhat loosing local support, and it is not clear that the 5th column has much freedom to manouver, nor is perhaps being interest in acting as such since they may be learning, at least some top members of it, that the AZs rule is to use and to discard, when not the paradoxical reward of the sacrifice of those who allowed to be used as pawns turns out to be the case. The question is: is such a reappraisal dawning?
Then comes the topics of the need to won the bureaucracy to the project which one the one hand is all about defeating the enemy and putting up a new world, of multicultural multipolar and fairness as some of its essential elements. Unity in diversity.
Thanking you for your kind attention
Greetings from Patagonia.
Dear Saker,
Thanks for this opportunity.
I would like to start phrasing some comments and to proceed to the relevant questions, that hopefuly Khazin and you may want to address.
Lately, members of what seems to be the Russian elite have called for Russia to grasp the opportunity unkindly offered by the Empire to promote the development of Russia, industrially, culturally and even to the point of becoming a beacon for all humankind. Though its generality, I think I know enough of Russia to take these calls seriously. Needless to say, we are participating in the collapse of a civilization, which started 2000 years ago. So, this call is anything but untimely. Pitirim Sorokin somewhere in the multiverse must be smiling and saying “this is what I meant by cycles”, looking at Chizevski sitting by his side! while Kondratiev is dropping water in the samovar, and Kozyrev is watching the stars and telling them, “indeed, this is what my shaman teacher taught me in the gulag”.
Of course, Dugin is somewhat of an inheritor of elements of these traditions.
So, the first question is: whom are the groups participating in the discussions, is it the RAS, Valdai Club, think-tanks,…??
What are the main elements being considered for the proposal?
Are foreigners somewhat allowed to participate at some point in the proposal?
Some remarkable announcement have appeared in Itar Tass, namely that privatization of Gazprom and the war industry is to proceed. As part of the general question, what is the model for the economy being contemplated?
Another topic. Following the latest comments by Medvedev and Navalny, it seems that the AZs are somewhat loosing local support, and it is not clear that the 5th column has much freedom to manouver, nor is perhaps being interest in acting as such since they may be learning, at least some top members of it, that the AZs rule is to use and to discard, when not the paradoxical reward of the sacrifice of those who allowed to be used as pawns turns out to be the case. The question is: is such a reappraisal dawning?
Then comes the topics of the need to won the bureaucracy to the project which one the one hand is all about defeating the enemy and putting up a new world, of multicultural multipolar and fairness as some of its essential elements. Unity in diversity.
Thanking you for your kind attention
Greetings from Patagonia.
Dear Mr. Khazin,
My very subjective and personal experience tells me, that the people in many European countries, want good neighborly relations with Russia, despite the fact of being constantly scared by the media and mislead by their atlanticist elite politicians. Can you conceive any positive scenario, where Western Europe improves and deepens its economic, political and cultural relationship with Russia? I am especially thinking of the German-speaking countries, and “old Europe” i.e. France, Italy, Spain. What conditions have to be met for such a positive development to take place? What can ordinary people do?
Russia, like Western Europe, is faced with demographic decline i.e. negative population growth, especially if you discount for immigration. Western Europe by and large seems to be unable (or unwilling) to counter that trend within the framework of liberal democracies. Since Russia has taken different, and sometimes very innovative paths than Western Europe, do you know of or are you aware of policies or developments which counter the demographic decline in Russia. How do you see the medium-term development for Russia in this area? Is there something that Western Europeans could learn from Russia?
Thank you to the Saker team for the opportunity to ask these questions!
Kind regards!
David, Vienna, Austria,
Greetings:
Q1: Why are so many Muslims allowed into Russia, when there are some problems with some of them?
Q2: What is the current attitude of having Americans in Russia, from the officials and the regular people?
Thank You
Dear Mr Khazin, I am a UK citizen, living in Düsseldorf, Germany for many years. My question/concern: How crucial is Mr Putin himself to a successful outcome of the current war on Russia (successful for Russia). What would be the likely result if the AngloZionists were able to remove him from the picture?
What is Russia’s policy or mood towards Africa and Latin America in the context of the current existential threats it is facing from the West? Could the historic role Russia played as a benefactor of African and Latin American countries during their struggles from colonization be revived? I know Russia is already doing that most explicitly with the establishment of the BRICS which has anchored both Africa and Latin America in its plans. My question is whether this historic relationship of the past can be revived and articulated by Russia to these regions. Both Africa and Latin America since the days of decolonization seem to have forgotten what the West had done to them and has been very friendly with the West up to this point where the West has shown its true colors once again and is threatening to subjugate everyone everywhere. Could Russia rally the three continents of Africa Asia and Latin America by framing this new fight in the context of the old struggle against colonization and characterize this new fight as “us against them as it was back in the day”. This would go a long way towards reawakening the fighting spirit of the Global South and Russia will be better for it because there is more strength in numbers and a united front.
Thanks.
Emmanuel.
from Ames, Iowa. USA
Signor Mikhail Khazin, lei aveva previsto già nel 2000 che l’Impero Usa o meglio l’Elite che lo dirige, sarebbe ricorsa anche ad attentati false-flag pur di far muovere le cose nel senso voluto (guerra). Quindi chiedo: Lei crede alla versione ufficiale sui fatti accaduti l’11/9/2001 in America? Se invece, come pare di capire, Lei non crede alla versione ufficiale dei fatti, cioè che 19 Arabi armati di cutter, abbiano provocato quel disastro, chi è stato, secondo Lei, a provocare il crollo di ben sette edifici, tra cui il vtc 7, la terza torre, nemmeno sfiorata dagli aerei e però misteriosamente crollata in caduta libera? Grazie se vorrà rispondermi, sono un Blogger Italiano.
If 2 questions are allowed…
The best time to be an economist – and no, I am not one – is when it’s all “up for grabs” so to speak and that seems to be the case now.
It seems to me that an immense vacuum has been created by the failure of neo-liberal economics. The crisis might be highlighted by the extremely small number of people who correctly anticipated the 2008 crisis. Of those I’m familiar with: Nouriel Roubini, Michael Hudson, Steve Keen (I think there’s about 7, at least in the Anglo-sphere.)
This seems like an enormous opportunity for Russia to provide some leadership by endorsing this implicit break.
As an example, the heterodox economics faculty of U of M Kansas City is a veritable brain trust that I think largely accords with the “progressive” features of the BRICS practice and Russia’s stance overall.
– Warren Mosler, Stephanie Kelton, Randy Wray – Modern Monetary Theory
– Michael Hudson – returning the “political” to “political economy” and reviving the relevance of “classical economics” and economic history generally (yes, the Sumerians) at least as a way of highlighting the enormous intellectual / moral evasions implicit in neo-liberalism
– William K Black – a heroic “regulator” who is expert at forcing attention on the main issue (at least in the western context): de-reglated finance as the apotheosis of a “criminogenic” environment
Finally, there’s Steve Keen in Australia who – to my mind – is actually developing the curriculum economics will grow into by both decrying the primitive, 19th c nature of standard economic models (in terms of the math, compared to contemporary engineering or physics for instance) and supplying their replacement; also, the revival of Hyman Mynsky as a key thinker.
I would be very interested in any thoughts you have regarding the way forward for economics as a discipline.
–
@ɓʁuçɚ
You can laugh all you want, yet you didn’t refute anything I wrote. I grew up in South Africa, did you? When you can point out where I’m incorrect using facts, let me know. Until then, keep your immature response to yourself, lest you start looking a fool.
@ɓʁuçɚ
You can laugh all you want, yet you didn’t refute anything I wrote. I grew up in South Africa, did you? When you can point out where I’m incorrect using facts, let me know. Until then, keep your immature response to yourself, lest you start looking a fool.
@ɓʁuçɚ
You can laugh all you want, yet you didn’t refute anything I wrote. I grew up in South Africa, did you? When you can point out where I’m incorrect using facts, let me know. Until then, keep your immature response to yourself, lest you start looking a fool.
Anand from India. Questions to Mr. khazin:
(1) India has had in Russia an all-weather friend. In 1971, Russia stood by India when we liberated Bangladesh from Pak army’s oppression and we could send back 10 million refugees to bangladesh.Today, India owes Russia similar support vi a vis Ukraine, where again it is now Russia that faces a refugee influx caused by behaviour of Ukraine Govt. India has huge linkage advantages in Africa and Mid-east. Can Russia steer India towards a more spirited engagemnent to stabilise and develop Mideast , Pakistan, South Asia , all in cooperation within BRICS ?
(2) Indian public’s appetite for gold is well known., Can gold or a gold-backed rupee or gold-backed rupee-dinar (India + Gulf jointly) be an international currency?
Dear Mr. Khazin,
In simple terms the America that the people of the world love and respect was built by The Ford Motor Company. The operation of Ford created every item of modern comfort and use on an affordable scale.
Any government could help to empower its people and build an independent economy if it would make the modern tools of industry available.
Specifically, the government could open schools that demonstrate how to use CNC machining centers and robot welders. The graduates of these schools could be given the equipment and facilities in which to operate them.
The Presidents Cup, a race or contest for domestically produced motorcycles, go-karts, automobiles, pleasure boats and airplanes, would pull on all the romance of our imagination and the good and intelligent people would do the rest.
Harry in Houston
Baboo here,
Simple question sir, do the Russian people have the desire and drive to live an alternative to “Western lifestyle”? If they don’t, which I fear, all the talk in the world won’t change a thing.
Your respectfully,
Dear Sir,
My question is who’s Sub are the Swedes desperately seeking in the Baltic near Stockholm? Two references in WAPO today imply its a Russian sub. Funny. When I look at a map of Sweden one would expect the Swedes see Russian subs traveling back and forth all the time. Unless Google Map is wrong. Looks like Sweden is a close neighbor of Russia. America is neighbors to Russia too. Gov Palin can see you guys from her back door. Just saying. Do you have subs in Alaska too? So why is Sweden searching for a Russian sub? Odd, huh. I would think they see Russian subs ALL THE TIME.
WAPO also reported Sweden received this info from a “trustworthy” source. Ummmm. Well. That eliminates ZUSA and its frenemies doesn’t it? We may be many things — “trustworthy” isn’t one of them. Not in my lifetime anyway.
Then I read about other Russian “incursions” in the Baltic. Like Russian search planes and stuff. What were those planes SEARCHING for in the Baltic Mr Khazin? Or were they just having fun buzzing dolphins? Like those guys buzzing USS Cook in the Black Sea. And then a funny thing happened. The Cook lost all defense capability. Weird, huh? What was that about Mr. Khazin?
Ohhhh, maybe Sweden is looking for dolphins too? Why would a nuclear dolphin be swimming in the Baltic — near Stockholm? That simply doesn’t make sense. Or does it?
Oh. One last question. What do you think of Sweden’s foreign policy vis-à-vis Palestine? Is it possible this stance will bring more attention to Sweden? And how will this affect Sweden’s GOOD FRIEND Israel?
Thank you so much for considering these questions.
Sincerely,
An American — NOT an Anglo-Zionist.
I’m Gagarin Thespaceman currently residing in Cape Town, South Africa.
Question for Mr. Khazin:
We trade goods internationally. We are aware of the threats by the West to cut Russia off from the SWIFT payment system. We have major plans for business with Russian companies. We know first hand the danger of not being able to conduct global banking transactions with ease. Realistically, how long would it take for Russia and China to create an equivalent system which would work independently from Western political elites? Are we talking about years, decades or merely some months?
Thank you to The Saker, The Saker Team and Mr Khazin!
I would like to ask Mikhail Khazin what he thinksof Sergei Glazyev and of the You Tube video he made explaining exactly what specific dangers Russia is facing immediately from the United States, using plain and simple speech in order to pin point the best answers to each dire problem Russia is presented with. For instance has Mr Khazin seen it or heard of it? Powerful in simplicity. Sergei and Putin are close and it seemed Putin began changing his public speeches to greater transparent simplicity, saying at one point the US President Obama lies during his speaking events. Comments please?
Does Mikhail Khazin know Sergei Galyev, the economist and the You Tube video he made in order to plainly outline the dire dangers Russia is facing from the United States, which seems to be nothing less than total annihilation.A stunning performance of clarity and commitment to self protection of the vast state.
’12 chair fan’ said:
Goodness, does Dr. Khazin ever have experience! and how!
And so my question to Dr. Khazin and Saker concerns the relationship, the juxtaposition of all that inside experience, with that absolute gem of Russian literature, ’12 Chairs’ by Il’f and Petrov. An economic textbook masquerading as a satire.
All that crime, corruption and greedy self dealing of Gaidar, Chubais and others, out to steal the economic surplus. Киса и Ося out to steal the diamonds of Тёщи Клавдии, representing the economic surplus.
It will be interesting to see if Russia can solve this modern riddle of the Sphinx, how to fold the economic surplus back into the economy, while the oligarchs are doing everything in their power to prevent such a thing.
But in reality, the Kremlin is in part actually doing this, as the share of state control industry has increased from 30% to 50% over the course of Putin’s years, according to a recent article in Bloomberg.
It will be interesting to see if the neo-liberal extraction can be halted. Does Dr. Khazin see this happening? Does he see state control over industry increasing? Does he see sovereign currency control and emission happening?
Thank you,
signed
’12 chair fan’
’12 chair fan’ said:
another question:
Does Dr. Khazin see Russia re-industrializing?
thank you
’12 chair fan’
Why,in the Russian view, was President Kennedy assassinated. If we knew the why,we’d know the who.
It’s time we knew.
I’m from the US- Cape Cod
My question is “What would happen if the US prosecuted the criminals in the banking system, imprisoned the guilty and liquidated their assets for the benefit of their victims?” Ending the Federal Reserve system would of course be necessary, but smaller banks (held strictly to the law) could manage reasonable banking duties. International financial deals should properly be under close scrutiny and all managers subject to treason charges for predatory or bad faith dealing.
This seems to me the obvious thing to do, and it would mostly just be a matter of enforcing the spirit of existing laws, and reviving traditional laws. It would have a wide range of benefits- eliminating vast amounts of fraudulent debt, both domestic and foreign, thus strengthening the domestic economy and relieving many foreign countries of the burden of debt slavery as well, and greatly improve international relations (especially considering that the financial criminals are the cause of most wars anyway). Legitimate debts would become more manageable for all. We could extradite the financial criminals for trials in other countries as well, which would keep them “on tour” for the rest of their lives.
Here in the US, however, the prevailing belief seems to be that doing such a thing would be unspeakably catastrophic, though nobody I know of has ever explained exactly how doing it could possibly be worse than not doing it.
Thank you for setting this up Saker.
Question to Mr. Khazin
The fundamental problem of Western society is that it is predicated on the arbitrary imposition of a currency that does not belong to the person that earns it in exchange for his labor.
Money legally belongs to the central bank which is under no reciprocal obligation to guarantee its value.
This is an arithmetical reality that ties the fortunes of the individual to those of the state thus inducing an arithmetical transfer of wealth bringing us to where we are today.
Do you think that in the near future Russia could contemplate allowing full liberty to individuals by allowing full unencumbered legal property of the money they earn thus implicitly guaranteeing its exchange value and separating the fortunes of the individuals from those of the state?
Mr. Khazin,
When do you expect Dow Jones to collapse, and what is expected percentage of the decline. Also, what is the best way to protect yourself: cash, gold, or hard assets (land etc.). Since, I am assuming that depression will be deflationary depression, cash seems the way to go, but I am wondering if government might just outlaw the currency and start creating new one, in which case gold might be the way to go.
Thank you, and question comes from Calgary, Canada
My question: What do you think of Sergei Glazyev’s You Tube discussion of exactly what Russia faces from the US/EU/UK (annihilation) and what is best to do to counter it as he stated in the video that Russia had six months only give a response that will change the outcome, annihalation?
more from ’12 chair fan’…
Since Dr. Khazin is a heavy duty math guy, I’d like to ask a math related question.
Is he aware of any economic modeling using Dr. Vladimir Vapnik’s vector support machine?
Since western economies all have this relationship of bad banking…”Income is transferred to debtors in inflation (bubble), and assets are transferred to creditors in deflation (crash)” which is directly related to the Ponzi economics system of private creation of credit/debt, with rent seeking flows, resulting in essentially planned economic crises at intervals,…
this should be model-able with Vapnik’s vector support machine, because it is repetitive, and always has these same elements, and bubble-crash dynamics.
And so (western economic) crises should all be readily predictable, they all happen on purpose.
There is the general question where the BRICS/SCO economy should be different from the Western one. I’m afraid they may repeat errors of the past, like planned state-run economy.
Here is a positive recommendation: Throw away patent and copyright laws. No intellectual property.
See http://www.dklevine.com/general/intellectual/againstfinal.htm for the economical reasons why. There are more if one considers a competition – West with against East without patent laws – where the East will win, and the social point that rejection of patent law internationally mostly hits US-monopolies.
It now appears that the anti-Russian sanctions Europe was pressured to accept are collapsing the European economy—further weakening the market for Russian energy. Similarly, prices for Russian mineral resources are under such pressure, as well as from commodity and currency speculators that may be operating on behalf of hostile powers. In conjunction with the official sanctions, these forces are collectively burdening Russia with massive FX costs in supporting the ruble. If these measures fail, Russian citizens could be burdened with substantially increased costs, possibly leading to political instability. As Mr. Putin has ruled out exchange controls, has consideration been given to creating a split domestic-foreign ruble to counteract this situation? (I note that, for some time, U.S. Federal Reserve Notes supplied to foreign governments as reserves have been printed in red rather than green ink.)
Tom Mysiewicz
Reedsport, OR
Mr Khazin
Would you please give us you opinion of what actually occurred on 9/11 in New York City.
Roy
North Carolina
As far as forecasters go I recommend Mike Stathis, author of America’s Financial Apocalyse, published in 2006.
My question for Dr. Khazin is, have we seen the bottom for oil prices in this cycle?
Swede55 Oregon, USA
As far as forecasters go I recommend Mike Stathis, author of America’s Financial Apocalypse of 2006.
Mu question is, have we seen the bottom for oil prices for the short term?
Dear M. Khazin,
It is easy to see that Russia knows its weaknesses and its strengths. What are your thoughts on the best ways for Russia to reduce those weaknesses and improve those strengths in the following fields:
– Transports (goods, persons)
– Health (environmental health, hospitals, rural health services)
– Engineering (complex and system integration engineering, stochastic related engineering issues [RAMS, ILS], mathematical modeling, linguistic engineering, archive engineering)
– Social structures (territorial administration, knowledge management, artisan organisations, syndicates, corporations)
Thank you so much for your availability
French living in the Midlands (UK)
Thanks for this.
I’d like to echo the question of Vic from Northern Ireland about prospects for economic (re)diversification in Russia.
Perhaps related, I’d like to ask professor Khazin his opinion about whether Russia has prospects of moving away from neoliberal, free-trade-oriented economic models. I see a basic tension between Russia’s political position as the target, if not precisely enemy, of the US on one hand, and the Russian economy and polity being strongly influenced by oligarchs who are basically part of the transnational capitalist class and as such tend to neoliberal, financialist economic approaches hostile to things such as industrial policy (which after all requires some protectionism) or a strong economic role for the state. It is hard to oppose the country which remains the centre of gravity for transnational capital while your country is itself partly controlled by transnational capital. Is this difficulty recognized in Russia and are there solutions being worked on?
This format is a great idea with many interesting questions at both sites!
Some contextual comments:
Massive intertwined corporations – When Corporations Rule the World – , often controlled by oligarchs, and trans-nationally mobile and more influential than many countries; A global money system that is privately controlled, with obvious benefit to oligarchs and deficit to the global commons and the public good; And a US global overt military-enforcer – the Pentagon – (John Perkins – Confessions ….) that has circa 1000 military bases/torture chambers/etc outside of US (Chalmers Johnson); And a covert-enforcer CIA Operational and NSA Intelligence (sic) etc presence just about every where. Simultaneously, the United States at home now has the remarkable achievement of being a world leader or near to it in virtually every form of dysfunction, from incarceration rates to depression to cancer rates to indebtedness etc etc.
The American chapter of what we may call The Global Hegemonic/Totalitarian -wannabee System, very inadequately summarized above, blew away JFK when he showed independence, and did 9/11 psy-op treason to further its ambitions; it now has identified Russia as The Great Problem, since Russia is not suitably supplicant, and since Russia has the military means to defend itself from an outright overt war of aggression. Russia dares to speak in ‘dated’ terms on behalf of the ambition of national sovereignty, and against global oligarchic sovereignty.
My question, finally, is: can you guesstimate to what extent, within Russian elite political circles on the one hand, and within the Russian people generally, there is more or less understanding/agreement with the above, and secondly, to what extent do you see an awakening of a determination among both elites and Russians generally to actually ‘go their own way come what may’, to provide leadership towards a ‘multi-polar world, and build a real alternative viable advanced modern culture which reduces oligarchic domination on behalf of the common good?
In my opinion, this would require ongoing unfettered questioning/rethinking of any aspect of the Hegemonic-wannabee Oligarchic System.
From Canada.
Part one:
This is not a question to the excellent Russian economist, mathematician and Kremlin advisor for whom I have great respect, it is more a good advice you will find at the end of the posting and an update on the situation in the Baltic. An appeal to the Kremlin.
When the sub surfaced, the navy started an advanced search operation among thousands of small islands in the Stockholm archipelago. The navy is good, but not as good as it was in the past when we were visited by subs every other year and when the navy had better funding.
The navy and the minister of defence say Sweden is looking for, not hunting, a submarine or some sort of underwater vehicle (there are new and strange kinds of subs now). No details are provided, no country is being accused and the navy also says it has no knowledge of the sub communicating with Kaliningrad or other maritime centers.
According to an anonymous source, the sub is damaged. Thursday, a Russian distress call was registered in the area. It was followed by an encrypted communication exchange that was traced geographically. Somebody in the search area communicated with Russian Kaliningrad. If we are to believe the source, the first call was unencrypted and that is odd.
The sub, which obviously is designed to be invisible, has been spotted in daylight three times and that is also odd. It is either damaged or wants to attract attention. Perhaps there are several subs, one of which needs a diversion to escape.
The search operation started Friday just before the new prime minister was to make his first state visit to Finland and the Baltic countries. Every politician in these countries will be talking submarines, as most people in northern Europe did during the weekend. The new prime minister is against NATO membership, but this incident may change his mind. If the sub is indeed Russian, relations will suffer. NATO will be strengthened and Russia demonized. Sub or no sub, this incident puts public opinion against Russia.
The navy is also looking for stranded servicemen, wounded or in hiding, and for assistants, so called sleepers, in small boats. One analyst points out that dead Russian servicemen washing up on the beeches is the worst case scenario and I agree. The implications would be huge.
The Dutch and Swedish navies have had an exercise in the Baltic and may have attracted Russias attention. Russia says the sub is Dutch, implying the exercise is still ongoing.
The USSR found it irresistable to practice in the Swedish and Finnish archipelagos, where it is almost impossible to find a sub. A sub can hide behind thousands of small islands or in depressions on the sea bottom. In the open seas it is much easier to find. After the exercise, the crew was better prepared for NATO waters.
Part two:
So what happened? Is Russia responsible? Is it a warning or a provocation? A miscalculation in Moscow? A Russian exercise or a NATO false flag? NATO has been in Swedish waters before, according to persistent rumours. I don’t know and we may never know. The sub is moving and can soon leave Swedish waters.
There are several Baltic archipelagos and they are very different from the Greek archipelago. Take notice of the many small islands, the hidden underwater obstacles that suddenly pop up off charts you can’t trust and the notoriously unreliable GPS information. The wildlife, sea birds and seals, are beautiful and enchanting, but it is difficult to navigate safely and the weather changes rapidly and unpredictably. I was around 15, when I and a friend sailed in the Finnish archipelago in a small boat with no engine. Young, proud and thinking we were immortal, we had a lot to learn and we did. Slowly, as you know if you have kids. We were gone for weeks without calling home and if we wanted to eat we had to fish. At the time, at least in our families with ties to the archipelago, that was part of our upbringing and the grownups didn’t protest.
Over one of the Swedish islands to the north of Gotland, I saw Swedish and Sovjet fighters dance in the sky and it was awesome. The speed, the roar of the engines, the difficult maneuvers and the intricate dangerous dance made a great impression on me, who was just a boy. I had a vivid imagination and could see the concentration of the pilots and see their hands on the trigger and the intense situation. It happened during the time of the Cold War, the incident was never mentioned in the media, but it left an imprint on me.
Today, I have put the Cold War behind me, I don’t want to see it restarted and I want no problems with Russia. My advice to the Russian economist is for Moscow to start a charm offensive in Sweden and Finland, two neutral countries, much as Russia did in China, despite the geopolitical problems, after decades of careful consideration. We are related, rediscover your northern brothers, your kin in a sense and see how a worker has become the prime minister of Sweden. Russia can solve this problem with its left hand. Keep the northern front free from NATO. I hope this message reaches the Kremlin.
Part two;
So what happened? Is Russia responsible? Is it a warning or a provocation? A miscalculation in Moscow? A Russian exercise or a NATO false flag? NATO has been in Swedish waters before, according to persistent rumours. I don’t know and we may never know. The sub is moving and can soon leave Swedish waters.
There are several Baltic archipelagos and they are very different from the Greek archipelago. Take notice of the many small islands, the hidden underwater obstacles that suddenly pop up off charts you can’t trust and the notoriously unreliable GPS information. The wildlife, sea birds and seals, are beautiful and enchanting, but it is difficult to navigate safely and the weather changes rapidly and unpredictably. I was around 15, when I and a friend sailed in the Finnish archipelago in a small boat with no engine. Young, proud and thinking we were immortal, we had a lot to learn and we did. Slowly, as you know if you have kids. We were gone for weeks without calling home and if we wanted to eat we had to fish. At the time, at least in our families with ties to the archipelago, that was part of our upbringing and the grownups didn’t protest.
Over one of the Swedish islands to the north of Gotland, I saw Swedish and Sovjet fighters dance in the sky and it was awesome. The speed, the roar of the engines, the difficult maneuvers and the intricate dangerous dance made a great impression on me, who was just a boy. I had a vivid imagination and could see the concentration of the pilots and see their hands on the trigger and the intense situation. It happened during the time of the Cold War, the incident was never mentioned in the media, but it left an imprint on me.
Today, I have put the Cold War behind me, I don’t want to see it restarted and I want no problems with Russia. My advice to the Russian economist is for Moscow to start a charm offensive in Sweden and Finland, two neutral countries, much as Russia did in China, despite the geopolitical problems, after decades of careful consideration. We are related, rediscover your northern brothers, your kin in a sense and see how a worker has become the prime minister of Sweden. Russia can solve this problem with its left hand. Keep the northern front free from NATO. I hope this message reaches the Kremlin.
Has Russia considered that with the sanctions and possible lost of European imports.That many of those European producers could be interested in opening plants in Russia to produce their goods for the Russian market.Rather than lose out on a 150 million consumer market.If Russians made products for that market that would be better.But that is a long range plan.While right now those European manufacturers have the product and experience already.Building plants in Russia would also tie European industrialists deeper into Russia.With a stake in having good relations between Russia and Europe.And cut down on import payments abroad to pay for the goods.As well as give jobs and experience in making those products to Russians.
Sorry,the question on European plants being build in Russia was from the USA.
**copy from thesaker.net:
Dear Mr. Khazin,
I am from Canada.
Many say that Russia tiptoes around Israel and does not take a firm stance against it. Israel’s policies do hurt Russia, and not any less than the USA and now the EU. Please let me now if you agree or disagree with the above statement and why? Specific examples of the above are:
1. In the past, Israel supported the Sakashvili Georgian Regime with weapons , drones and advisers against Russia.
2. Israel assisting ISIS/ISIL and hospitalizing their wounded in their terrorist war against Russia’s ally Syria.
3. Israel violating international law by launching bombing Incursions into Russia’s ally Syria, while it is preoccupied by war with terrorist Jihadis (ISIS/ISIL). Evidence shows that at least one bombing was coordinated with these terrorist elements.
4. Israel directing their USA lobby AIPAC (the most powerful lobby in the USA) to urge the US to bomb Russia’s ally Syria
Thank you for your time
Dear Mr.Khazin,
This is my great-full thanks to take our questions into consideration.
On many economical blogs there are informations that Russia and rest of the BRICKS countries has already developed the proposal for the world new financial system which is going to be a financial practice with out usury and it will be beneficial for the all world with out any selection of nations or oligarchs to be privileged.
This new proposed financial system is based on the new technological developments /which were suppressed for many generations / to implement as soon as possible into a use of the all world humanity /for example proposed Mr. Keshe foundation /.
Implementation of the green energy supplies, improvement of the educational system around the world and fair support for the every nation around the world.
Do you think that the prediction from Mr. Edgar Cayce /prediction just before his passing / that Russia is going to be the hope for the all world is going to happen?
Gretka from Canada
Dear Prof. Khazin,
I would like to ask you to explain, briefly if possible, how the Eurasian Union changes the economic ties between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and what kind of common economic future is envisioned for these three countries as part of that Union. Specifically, how does the Belarusian state socialist economy fit with the more liberal Russian and Kazakh economies? Normally, in that context industry in the more socialistic area relocates to the more liberal areas and the socialism gets rolled back as result. I understand that Belarus’s per capita GDP is slightly lower than that of Russia and Kazakhstan. Is that basically what keeps Belarus from de-industrializing in this Union?
Thanks,
Song (in Canada)
Mr Khazin,
Paul from Tokyo here.
In your recent appearance on TV with Sergei Glazyev, you suggested that the use of sanctions by the US was a sign that the current system was breaking down. Can you elaborate on what you mean? Many in the West have expected a gradual attempt to basically enslave the world, with the understanding that past systems would have to be replaced at some point. As an example, it is insufficient to have pro-American dictators around the world as a truly dominant US requires that much of the world be turned into failed states, and no local elites or dictators would agree to this.
So, do you see the US failing or instead seeking an upgrade of its dominance, one that is more brutal?
Dear Mr. Khazin,
I have couple of queries that revolve around Russia’s current stand against the global AngloZionist Plutocracy:
(1) how far do you feel that, Dollar-denominated and IMF/WB-led global trade and commerce can be replaced by Russia-led initiatives/ideas like local currency payments between friendly countries, BRICS bank, gold backed currency etc.?
(Especially, since (a) USA is trying hard to maintain the Dollar supremacy through continental trade pacts like TTIP and TPP, (b) each country of independent minded blocks like BRICS, SCO, UNASUR etc. has very powerful local Oligarchy which serves the interest of the global Plutocracy, (c) most of the political leaders and government officers across countries are corrupt, and ready to do anything that serves their pocket)
(2) what will be the most likely trajectory of Russian geopolitical response to the current disturbances created by AngloZionist Plutocracy for the following:
(a) autonomy/independence of Novorossiya in the larger canvas of neo-Nazi groups ruling over Ukrainian landmass (b) Wahabi-led efforts to create a Sunni Arab domination that curves out current landmass of Iraq-Syria-Lebanon to permanently destroy Iran-led (and Russia-backed) Shia crescent (c) deter Israel and Turkey (who are carefully portrayed as ‘protagonists’ by AZ-dominated media, but are key actors in AZ plan) from further destabilizing west Asia
(3) how strong and fruitful will be the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership which is slowly and steadily becoming stronger than ever – do Chinese leaders understand that ‘after Russia, it is China’s turn to face internal/border unrest and threat of disintegration’ from the AZ Plutocracy, and sincere to put up a joint front with Eurasianists of Russia? How do you feel that Russia-China relations can blossom into rock-solid partnership that guards against the AZ design of turning the entire humanity into commercialised slaves/robots?
(4) last one, being a very pessimistic person who looks everything from historical perspective, I am increasingly feeling that the global AngloZionist Plutocracy is even ready to face complete ruin for themselves, but is not willing to let the empire go out of their control – how optimistic are you that peace and spiritualised society will return to earth that is under continuous retreat since industrial revolution in 1800s? On the contrary, is Russia-China duo is ready jointly in the very unfortunate WWIII (remembering the fact that, in WWII Russia and China had most number of casualties, and both were comrade-in-arm)?
Thanks for giving an opportunity to ask questions, and look forward to your sincere opinion.
Regards,
Straight-Bat
Part one:
Dear Sir, Mr Khazin, privjet, kak dila?, I have great respect for you. Here are some thoughts on how to build up a ruined economy.
Germany was in ruins after the war and recovery was slow and painful. In catholic villages in southern Germany people started small companies in their cellars, where the rent was close to zero. Family members and neighbours were called in to help when needed and the companies traded with other companies locally. Bills and wages were paid on time, that was a matter of honour in the village and an important reason for the success. Nobody wanted a bad name in the village. Two-three decades later, the economy in the south had become more important than the industrial cities in the north. Small companies grew into middlesized companies and some became very big. The German economic recovery impressed the world. The D-mark got very strong in the sixties and the German people was proud. I recommend Heimat (part 2 or 3?, can a German help me here?), a German TV series, for a dramatized popular version (no economic explanations) of what happened.
A small company has many different issues to deal with, finding the right product, marketing, paper work and much more, but primarily four economic factors decide if it succeeds or not. Rents, bank loans, taxes and wages. Germany had regional stateowned banks, Landesbanken, and that helped, but many small companies had little or no access to credit.They had to become self financing and inventive. Instead of buying new equipment, they saved and bought secondhand equipment. A small honey company in Denmark connected two machines to a very low cost and the solution is still in place. One individual lost his job and that leads me to what happens with wages when companies are not in debt. Labour and banks compete. When there is no debt, labour has an open door, jobs are created and wages go up. In the fifties, when credit was scarce because of the war, a large part of Europe saw wages go up and unemployment go down. It was a blessing for the workers that the small companies did not work for the banks, though there were also other reasons for the low unemployment rate. Same thing happened between 1871 and 1914, the only period of relative peace Europe had had since the Roman peace, if I remember correctly. I know little about German taxes at the time, but they were probably not as high as today, considering the tax in a neighbouring country was around ten percent.
A protestant community in that country went through the same process in the late 19th century. The Christian revival gave the workers confidence, belief in the future, and they started small companies that grew and became important. They didn’t work in the cellars, they worked in the barns, but the secret was the same. Wages and bills were always paid in time. The small company owners were very inventive and they still to this day avoid banks if possible. It should be obvious that morals and freedom from debt lead to success, but you can’t get todays elite to understand that.
There were no German-like Landesbanken, but there were several local small banks owned by the locals. If you didn’t pay back your loan, you cheated your neighbour and got a bad name, so everybody paid and the banks were solvent.
The generals in Chile are praised for having saved the economy of the country, I remember Lebed, but it is not explained how they did it. Foreign investments in Chile could not leave the country until after a year or two. This important cushion was a stabilizing factor. Apart from that, I can’t think of anything the generals did right.
Part two:
Now we come to the German Landesbanken and that is a difficult subject. The banks were nationalized/socialized after 1933 and that is not a year the readers of this blog want to be reminded of. The banks revenues went to the German states, not to bankers, and the banks started working for the states and their citizens. I claim the Landesbanken had an important part in Germanys economic recovery after 1945. So did the German economic central planning which is still in place, for those who have eyes to see. If you are uncomfortable with nationalized banks, you should know France nationalized several banks after 1945, a winning solution in difficult times.
I don’t know how Germany recovered economically after 1933. It is a well kept secret and there are not many clues. Some economists only say the ideas of Keynes were implemented. Some say Berlin found an inventive way to use bonds. How? Some say the secret was the country got rid of private debts and point out the states took over the farmers debts to get rid of the so called rent on the soil, an important topic in the 19th century. Debts and taxes made food more expensive, farmers suffered and consumers reacted. How was it possible to take over the farmers debts?
In northern Finland, Osterbotten, farmers got in debt in the 1910s-1920s. The farmers, who were already short on cash as many small farmers are/were, had to stop contributing to millennia-old harvest feasts and there was tension between farmers and farmhands, who were not always paid in time. The Finnish civil war between the reds and the whites partly had economic reasons.The small farmers were on the red side, something which most of you westerners hear for the first time. They fought to defend their small properties.
Russia will need to find its own way out of this mess. I advice Russian economists to learn from the past. Macro economics is a beautiful science, especially in its advanced mathematics, Mr Khazin, I am sure you agree, but I, a micro economist, advice the Kremlin to also study micro economics to understand how many small players interact. That is where it all starts.
Roxz (Sweden)
Q:
1/ It seems as if the central bank of Russia is a major problem today, howcome, are they dominated by the Atlanticists, or do they lack some competence, and/or is it something else (and howcome that the government, with such good advisors, hasn’t done anything effective to address those issues (yet))?
2/ When we, or let’s say Russia or BRICS, draw up the contours of some other order(s) replacing the collapsing “dollar-system”, do you see something “more or better” here than just a try to improve the old system?
P.S. I mean, multipolarity, political autonomy, following the (“good”) laws and rules, a better financial system and basically a better capitalist system is not very new or radical: it’s probably a rather hopeless project since the whole “global” capitalist system is in major (terminal?) crisis… Anyhow, I would like to share a couple of interesting alternative ideas I’ve come across during the years: one is a synthesis – another kind than communism – between capitalism and socialism: the core structure is “socialism on the macrolevel” and “capitalism on the microlevel”; the other one is a more decentralised system with local/communal direct democracies in confederal cooperation (see for ex. Murray Bookchin for more on this last one).
Thanx! :D