“Independent Siberia will put Russia on its knees”
The meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States on the margins of the G-20 summit in Hamburg last Friday, as expected, caused a lot of noise in the Western media, most of whom began to water the head of the White House more verbally. This time Trump was blamed for the fact that he “easily believed Putin about his non-interference in the American elections,” that he allegedly too much admired the Russian leader, and also brought a bunch of other equally absurd accusations. Nevertheless, while the results of the first meeting look rather modest: only an agreement has been reached on the de-escalation zone in Syria. However, it is likely that other results of the more than two-hour talks between the two leaders will appear a bit later. At the same time, there is no doubt that any steps taken by Trump in relations with Russia will be interpreted by the Western media not in favor of the head of the White House. “The Bell of Russia” presents another collection of interesting materials in the Western media over the past week.
Thus, the influential American edition of The Washington Post published the material "Now the interests of Russia and the United States have lost their importance in relations between the two countries." According to browser observer Ann Epbaum, Russian President Vladimir Putin received from the meeting with the head of the White House, Donald Trump, “everything he wanted,” in the very first seconds beating his American counterpart. “The Russian leader waited until Trump was the first to give a hand, after which the camera clicks immediately sounded. A few minutes later, a photo appeared on the Russian resources, which shows Trump extending a hand to the arrogantly looking Vladimir Putin, ”the author writes.
The observer is sure that such a frame was needed by the Kremlin, for whom the value of meeting with Trump on 99 percent was then to use the resulting image for propaganda purposes inside Russia itself. At the same time, she stresses, the head of the White House also received a certain benefit from this meeting. “If we recall his recent speeches, it was obvious that Trump needed approval and acceptance from Putin. I find it difficult to explain why this is so, but our president has long admired the head of the Kremlin, whom he very often praised and never criticized, ”the author says. According to her, both sides got what they wanted from the meeting: Putin increased his authority, and Trump got himself a new friend. “In these relations, only two people are important, and not the interests of the countries that stand behind them,” concludes Applebaum.
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Violently criticize Trump for a meeting with Putin began in the American edition of Vox, in which the material was published under the heading “Putin and Trump. 1: 0 ”by reviewer Alex Ward. “Recently, everyone wondered: would the head of the White House seize the opportunity and ask the Kremlin’s host directly about his interference in last year’s elections? Yes, indeed, Trump asked this question, but made it so that everything became even worse than it was before, ”he writes.
The reason for this, according to the author, is that the head of the White House categorically accepted the words of the Russian leader who, during the meeting, categorically rejected any interference in the US presidential election. “While all intelligence agencies believe that such interference was, Trump takes the words of the Russian leader at face value. And this means that Moscow received from this meeting what it wanted - the appearance of the fact that the administration of the head of the White House acknowledges the Kremlin’s innocence of interfering in the electoral process, ”Ward continues.
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Hamburg
And if so, the author is sure, then Putin achieved his goal, forcing Trump to believe in his words. “The Russian leader elegantly circled around the finger of our president, this master of making deals. Trump had to prepare well for the meeting with Putin, but he neglected the preparations. In other words, our president caused much more harm by meeting with the head of the Kremlin than if he had stayed in Washington, ”the columnist sums up.
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Another interesting material titled “If Facebook was a religion, it would be the second largest in the world” was also published in The Washington Post. According to columnist Christopher Ingram, last week Facebook announced that two billion people are active users of this social network - almost a quarter of the world's population. “Only a couple of decades ago, the idea that a single product would be used by billions of people all over the planet seemed absurd, unless this“ product ”was, for example, a religious text. Now, Mark Zuckerberg’s social network has almost as many users as Christian followers around the world, and quite possibly in the next few years will overtake the world's largest religion, ”the author writes.
At the same time, the browser continues, Facebook users are already more than the speakers of any of the languages of the world. “Likes, friend requests, comments, etc. - all this becomes the closest and most universal language of communication for humanity,” notes Ingram. No less impressive is the speed with which the Zuckerberg social network has gained almost a quarter of humanity, the columnist writes. “Facebook announced the first billion in eight years of its existence - in 2012, and the second billion was added in less than five years. For comparison, the fastest billion population was added on our planet in 12 years - from 2000 to 2012 years, ”he states.
According to Ingram, in the “madness of daily communication” on this social network, it is easy to forget that none of its users have any idea what it is when a quarter of all humanity is connected to a single product that is governed by one set of rules and regulations , and people are loaded into a single database that knows a lot about them, if not everything. “It doesn’t matter to us, we are simply following this“ new religion ”on the wave of likes and comments to the future that Facebook has prepared for us,” Ingram says.
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An interesting article was also published in the influential American edition of The New York Times. In an article titled “Far Eastern Las Vegas for Asian Players,” columnist Andrew Higgins writes that the small town Artyom located 38 kilometers from the seaside capital of Vladivostok is experiencing a real “invasion” of Chinese and Koreans. The reason is that Artyom enters the Russian gambling zone Primorye, where gamblers come from all over East Asia. "Despite the commitment of Moscow and China to the development of bilateral relations, the Chinese are not in a hurry to invest in the Russian Far East, but the building built in the suburbs of Vladivostok, like a luxurious palace, attracts wealthy Asians ready to squander a fortune here," the author writes .
The casino is called Tigre de Cristal, and so far it is the only gambling establishment in the Russian Far East “entertainment zone”, which was created in 2009 year. “However, the Primorye authorities are hoping that in the coming years, eight more places for gambling fans will be built. At the same time, the Chinese are showing interest in the project, hoping in the coming years to invest more than 500 million dollars here. They smelled success and realized that you can get not only wood and energy resources from Russia, but also make good money on the gambling business, ”Higgins notes
Gaming zone in Artem
According to him, the Chinese are going to Artem due to the fact that there is a strict ban on gambling in the Celestial Empire. “They are allowed only in semi-autonomous Macau, but for more than one hundred million Chinese living in regions adjacent to Russian Primorye, the gaming zone in Artyom is the only way to try your luck and catch luck by the tail. For the sake of such a trip, the Chinese even get into loans, ”the observer adds.
As the author notes, Vladimir Putin, being a champion of Christian values, banned casinos and slot machines in 2009, saying that too many Russians lose their last penny. “However, for Moscow, apparently, there are no problems if the money will lose millions of Chinese and other foreigners. Apparently, this is the case, because of this money, about a thousand of local residents are paid, who got jobs with the creation of this gambling zone, ”Higgins notes.
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In turn, the American edition of The American Interest published the material "Russia - the last colonial empire." The article states that Russia is much more like typical European colonial empires than many people think. “And this leaves a definite imprint on the future. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between colonies that were seized by Europeans and subsequently settled mainly by the Europeans themselves, and dependent territories with the local population, which was forcibly subordinated to the Europeans. Historically, most of the countries of the Old World had either colonies or dependent territories, while Russia had both the first and the second, which made it in many ways a unique empire, ”the material says.
According to the article, the loss of “colonial possessions” by Russia in 1991 did not cause it serious economic damage: the total GDP of the post-Soviet countries for 2016 was only 540 billion dollars, while the Russian gross domestic product was 1,27 trillion last year. “In addition, after the departure of the outlying republics, Siberia acquired much greater significance for Russia, which became its main economic value. This vast territory occupies 75 percent of the country's territory and gives more than 75 percent of national exports. If Siberia suddenly revolts and stops supplying raw materials, Russia's export volume will be less than that of Hungary. Russia receives 55 percent of federal revenues from the use and export of natural resources, but at the same time this vast territory still remains a poor and insufficiently developed trans-Ural colony of Moscow, ”continues the publication.
The American Interest notes that Russia's strategy to preserve its influence in the former post-Soviet republics is wrong, since Russia's real interests imply the development of Siberia. “Moscow should abandon its post-imperial designs, stop experiencing old injuries and focus on creating a well-managed internal system that will give its trans-Ural colonies the influence they deserve. Otherwise, Moscow risks losing these territories, after which the future of Russia itself will be very vague and uncertain, ”the article says.
Then, the article criticizes the policy of the federal center in relation to the eastern territories. “The total share of regional tax revenues remaining in Siberia has decreased by almost 15 percent over the past 20 years. At the same time, the Russian government creates state corporations, which in fact operate in Siberia, but have main offices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where they pay their taxes. That is why the GDP of these two cities exceeds the GDP of the entire vast territory east of the Ural Mountains, ”the article notes. According to The American Interest, last year, the share of the Siberian Federal District in national exports was only a little more than nine percent, since companies sitting in Moscow and St. Petersburg are considered “exporters”. “It seems that gas, oil and other minerals are mined exclusively within the Moscow ring road. Because of this, Siberia suffers from a lack of investment, and the standard of living is rather low there, ”adds the publication.
According to The American Interest, the development of this vast territory should become the main goal of Moscow, which should create the most convenient conditions for entrepreneurship in Siberia, weakening state control over economic activities in the region and creating a huge free economic zone throughout the Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts. “It is also necessary to rethink the role of territories in the big geopolitical game. Moscow is fixated on relations with China, but it is not very profitable for Russia, which risks becoming a raw materials appendage of the Middle Kingdom. It would be much more profitable if Moscow developed relations with Japanese, South Korean, American, Canadian and even Australian firms, which would reduce the geopolitical risks of losing Siberia and the Far East due to too close a rapprochement with China, ”the article notes.
The American Interest is sure: Russia should abandon attempts to influence the situation in the post-Soviet republics, focusing on the development of its own territories. “With skilful economic management, Siberia can once again raise Russia and give it a worthy place among the most powerful and influential countries. In the case of Moscow’s inattention, the vast territory beyond the Urals will sooner or later play a fatal role in the fate of Russia, ”the publication sums up.
Following this logic, the United States should not only close its military bases around the world, but also cease to influence even the affairs of neighboring Canada and Mexico, because America has a huge number of problems that need to be resolved. Especially acute is the situation with the deteriorating infrastructure, which the American Society of Civil Engineers in its 2009 report for the year put on a solid "two". What to say if dams collapse in the country, threatening the lives and property of hundreds of thousands of people. Will the United States cease its nose in the affairs of other states in such a situation? Very doubtful. Then why should Russia leave the post-Soviet republics, which are for it a vital buffer from the aggressive actions of “fighters for freedom and democracy”? It is clear that it is necessary to develop Siberia and the Far East, but to give up their positions where they are, by no means impossible.
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