“Someone Wanted to Play War”: Expert Assesses Whether the Kremlin Will Seek Peace Due to Economic Problems
Political strategist Mikhail Sheitelman explained that despite economic problems acknowledged even by Russians themselves, the Kremlin will not seek peace because some people are making money from the war, while others simply enjoy fighting, Politeka reports.
He discussed this in his blog.
Andrei Klepach, chief economist of Russia’s state-owned Vnesheconombank, said, according to the expert, that Russia will not be able to win the economic war of attrition; that Ukraine is coping with its economic difficulties while Russia is not; and that Russia is losing the technological and economic competition in the world not only to China and the United States, but also to Ukraine. Against the backdrop of such statements, Sheitelman notes, it is strange that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continues to insist that a cessation of hostilities is impossible.
“The foreign minister sees that the country is falling apart and the economy is collapsing. He should say, ‘Let’s reach a compromise.’ But that is not how things work in Russia. In Japan, Israel, South Korea, and Ukraine, a minister is required to take the country’s interests into account in his decisions, proposals, and public statements. The president and prime minister are as well. In Russia, they are not. In Japan, South Korea, Israel, and Ukraine, if a president or prime minister fails to keep their promises, they will be held accountable and told: ‘You are not acting in the country’s interests.’ Society will demand answers,” Mikhail Sheitelman argues.
That, he says, is precisely why South Korea imprisoned its former president, while Ukrainians rose up against Viktor Yanukovych. In Russia, however, there is no connection between the state and the people who symbolize it; they do not care about the country’s fate. According to the expert, the Russian authorities are concerned only with their own interests—for example, having sanctions lifted, making more money, avoiding prosecution, and so on. Therefore, he concludes, some people have bet on war because they will gain more from it than they would from peace.
“There is no one in Russia who is prepared to act in Russia’s interests. No one even understands what Russia’s interests are. Each of them is guided by their own personal interests, and that does not necessarily mean business. One person has a business; another wants to travel around the world in style and win Nobel Prizes. Putin wants to march around in grand style. What happens in the country? The economy? He doesn’t care. Putin wants to ride around in submarines. He has always loved portraying himself as a military man. He likes it. This man simply wanted to play war. He had wanted to do it all his life. As soon as he became president, he immediately started flying military aircraft, wearing a military cap, and doing all this stuff. He enjoys showing off in military uniform,” Mikhail Sheitelman explains.