Leading Russian economist Sergey Glazyev—former MP, former advisor to President Putin, and current Eurasian Economic Commission Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics—published a lengthy article on May 3 in Business Online, in which he presents a detailed strategy for Russia in the face of what he calls the U.S./U.K./NATO war policy “aimed at the destruction of the Russian world.” In addition to sharply protectionist war economy measures domestically, Glazyev argues that “Russia needs to act as a world leader in initiating the transition to a new global monetary and financial system.… The participants in the formation of a new fair and transparent world monetary and financial system, along with such victims of American aggression as Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Afghanistan, can be the leading countries of the new world economic order: China, India, ASEAN countries.” (https://www.business-gazeta.ru/article/548834)
He writes that, “in an effort to inflict the maximum possible damage on Russia, Washington, London and Brussels have played their main cards: a monopoly on the issue of world currencies.” He describes three stages of that plan, which includes “wearing down the Russian armed forces” in the Ukraine war; launching a color revolution to overthrow the Putin government; and unleashing “separatist actions in the regions.” Should they succeed in destroying Russia, “the American `deep state’ plans to destroy Iran and blockade China.”
Glazyev then presents his policy alternative:
“To survive in the fight against the enemy, which is an order of magnitude superior to us in terms of financial, economic and technological power, it is necessary to mobilize all the resources available in the country. Until now, we are irretrievably losing them: the drain of brains and capital continues ($65 billion in the first quarter of 2022); export of the vast majority of natural resources; half of the production capacity is idle….” [Emphasis added.]
To do this, policies like those of the 1989-1990 Primakov government must be adopted, tightening foreign exchange controls and keeping interest rates low so that cheap loans can flow “for targeted refinancing of commercial banks for lending to manufacturing enterprises.”
Glazyev further calls for the “development of a strategic plan for the mobilization of available resources in order to provide the armed forces and the population with the necessary goods and the regulatory framework for its implementation.” The goals to be achieved are “modernization and growth in the production of high-tech military and dual-use products. To do this, credit lines should be organized with a rate of no more than 2% per annum for borrowing enterprises that manufacture products under government orders and work under government programs.”
On the foreign front, Glazyev calls for “protection of the monetary and financial system from speculative attacks based on standard market cooling measures, the introduction of licensing of capital and restrictions on non-trading operations, fixing the foreign exchange position of commercial banks. Introduction of a tax on the sale of currencies and securities purchased less than a year ago. A radical increase in the effectiveness of currency control. Carrying out de-offshorization of the economy and stopping the illegal export of capital.” He also repeats his earlier calls for Russia to work with China, India and other SCO and BRICS nations, to “transition to national currencies in mutual trade and investment … [and the] creation of a payment system independent of hostile countries.”
Glazyev concludes by discussing the “new ideology” required, which he describes as a “social-conservative synthesis … [the] harmonization of the activities of all social groups based on the criterion of increasing public welfare.”
