The Global North together with Russia: liberal utopia as a dream of returning to the 2000s
“Chronicles of the centuries-old struggle between two branches of Christianity...
reflect that the Russians were victims of aggression,
and Westerners are aggressors...
The Russians have brought upon themselves the hostility of the West.
because of its direct adherence to an alien civilization."
Arnold Toynbee "Civilization on Trial" stories»
reflect that the Russians were victims of aggression,
and Westerners are aggressors...
The Russians have brought upon themselves the hostility of the West.
because of its direct adherence to an alien civilization."
Arnold Toynbee "Civilization on Trial" stories»
Myths about the Global South and North: core and periphery
The concept of the Global South and North is inferior in adequacy to the core-periphery concept. There is a geographical North and South. Further, there is a center (core) of the system of world capitalism - Europe and the USA, and there is a periphery - developing countries: suppliers of raw materials. The concepts of South and North neutralize these fundamental relationships.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South is a term that broadly covers countries in the regions of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan and South Korea) and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand). These are poor and developing countries. But it includes South Korea, Israel, Japan, and Australia, which are clearly not backward.
The author agrees with I. Khodakov (“Russia as part of the global North in the shadow of the myth of the global South”) that the Global South does not exist. But there is also no Global North - we are a poor country in terms of living standards and are not at the core of the capitalist system. And even now we have a conflict with the North (NATO, the West, Europe, the USA).
But where is Russia?
Although Russia is culturally part of the global geographic North, and its elites are largely pro-Western in orientation (I. Khodakov), which is caused by the liberal matrix of the 90s, it will never be part of the West (global North). Both the current Northern Military District and the possibility of a direct war with the West testify to this. The West does not give us the opportunity to protect our Russian interests in our ancestral Russian lands in Ukraine, because they are afraid that we will become an empire again.
Russia is geographically and culturally a bridge between Asia and Europe. We have combined the best achievements of these two civilizations. But historically, since the times of the USSR, Russia has been consolidating with developing countries, since they are the object of exploitation by the core. And although the United States is now driving wedges into our relations with the BRICS countries, both India and China, also dependent on the United States, do not always support us, we still have more in common with them politically and economically than with the core countries. And the much stronger we are, the more commonality there will be.
China is a semi-periphery, a state that actually outperforms the United States in real economic performance, but is not recognized as a member of the core. According to István Messzáros, China does not have the opportunity to become a “big capitalist country”, in the sense that the existing world system cannot accept China's rise to the rank of a key state. China has ambitions that lead to contradictions with the core and the United States. And our “friendship” with China helps both countries solve their problems, but this is in no way an alliance.
Russia is also a semi-peripheral state that has remnants of the great legacy of the USSR. At the same time, the West, relying on the administration of our raw materials elites, all this time imposed on us the role of the periphery, trying in every possible way to turn us into a raw materials quarry.
Just 12 years ago, in 2010, Russian and European politicians together dreamed of building a large, united Europe that would stretch from Lisbon to Vladivostok. Let us recall that in 2022, the Russian President said that he still considers it possible to create such a project, but only with Europe, which has the right to vote.
But it was the West that did everything to destroy this illusion. If the West had not carried out aggressive actions along our perimeter, Russia could have assimilated and dissolved into the Western matrix. But this is completely impossible, Russia is the antipode of the West, its historical counterweight. The West set other goals - to destroy Russia like the USSR.
It is not for nothing that back in 2016, the American research center Stratfor, which positions itself as a geopolitical intelligence and consulting firm, and is often called the “second CIA” in the media, wrote the following:
“The current conflict with Russia over Ukraine will remain at the center of the international system, but we do not think that the Russian Federation is able to survive in its current form for another ten years...
We expect a noticeable weakening of Moscow's power, which will lead to the formal and informal fragmentation of Russia...
We expect Poland to become the leader of a new anti-Russian coalition, to which Romania will join in the first half of the decade. In the second half of the decade (after 2020), this alliance will play a leading role in the revision of Russian borders and the return of lost territories in formal and informal ways.
As Moscow weakens, this alliance will dominate not only Belarus and Ukraine, but also further east.
All this will strengthen the economic and political position of Poland and its allies.”
We expect a noticeable weakening of Moscow's power, which will lead to the formal and informal fragmentation of Russia...
We expect Poland to become the leader of a new anti-Russian coalition, to which Romania will join in the first half of the decade. In the second half of the decade (after 2020), this alliance will play a leading role in the revision of Russian borders and the return of lost territories in formal and informal ways.
As Moscow weakens, this alliance will dominate not only Belarus and Ukraine, but also further east.
All this will strengthen the economic and political position of Poland and its allies.”
Dreams of the Great North
Not so bad for your “partner” in the North? And now the forecasts (ideas) of the Kremlin ideologist Vladislav Surkov (and not only) about the new Great North have arisen:
“There will be a Great North - Russia, the USA and Europe, forming a common socio-cultural space. Triune northern geopolitical cluster...
A common future is predetermined by common roots. The three largest northern civilizations, Russian, European and American, draw inspiration in their political development from the image of the Pax Romana...
The source code of these three metacultures is found in the Iliad and the Gospel. Their relationship is obvious.
Our victory will change both us and the so-called West. It will be a new step towards the integration of the Great North, where our country will act as a co-member of the global triumvirate.
The evil of this day will be replaced by creation. And this will be the merit not so much of the politicians of the future, but of Homer and St. Mark."
A common future is predetermined by common roots. The three largest northern civilizations, Russian, European and American, draw inspiration in their political development from the image of the Pax Romana...
The source code of these three metacultures is found in the Iliad and the Gospel. Their relationship is obvious.
Our victory will change both us and the so-called West. It will be a new step towards the integration of the Great North, where our country will act as a co-member of the global triumvirate.
The evil of this day will be replaced by creation. And this will be the merit not so much of the politicians of the future, but of Homer and St. Mark."
From the point of view of common sense, what has been said is largely true. We have more in common with the US and Europe than with China. It would be a great union - but it is impossible by any measure.
Dreams about the Great North speak of a misunderstanding of world history and ignorance of the history and essence of religions.
The West sees us in the Great North only as its territory and colony, but nothing more. We already had such a North from 1992 to 2014 (before sanctions), when the collapse of the USSR breathed a second wind into the core of capitalism, Russia became a sales market and supplier of raw materials, in the 90s the West made us reforms, coordinated and trained ministers, wrote to us laws. China has flooded the whole world with cheap products. Europe received raw materials and gas, and we received cheap imports from Germany and France. It was calm in Europe. But Russia has degraded.
Conflict in Ukraine: separation of Russia and Europe
This design strengthened Europe, and to a certain extent gave us crumbs from the master’s table. Our tourists and capital flowed over the hill. This did not suit the US, and they decided to separate the EU from the Russian pipeline.
Many experts have written that the main goal of the current conflict in Ukraine is to weaken Europe and separate Russia from the EU economy, depleting it as well.
Is it possible to turn back the clock: back to the 2000s or to 1985?
Let’s say that some sober part of the elite (perhaps the EU), like our liberals, would like to return time to 2010. What's bad? Everyone is fine. Cheap oil and gas, and they give us cars. Better than Chinese ones and cheaper. But in this case, it is necessary to end the conflict in Ukraine, which will inevitably entail its division, complete or partial. This situation will not suit the United States, because the division of Ukraine or even the freezing of the Northern Military District means the strengthening of Russia.
But when deciphering such messages, you can offer the worst option. We are offered a well-coded program of the peace party or “turning the clock back” from the oligarchs who have suffered under sanctions - the most pro-Western part of the elites. Since in the Great North of Russia only the role of a vassal, and not a co-leader, is intended, we are talking about the continuation of the assimilation of Russia by the West.
The West was afraid of the revival of Russia's imperial ambitions and, as an option, offered our elites a new year, 1985. In this scenario, on the other side of the scale there may be concessions on territory during the division of Ukraine and investments. And an incredible break with China. Although such a turn of events seems impossible, it is possible to pack this option. However, such a “North” will cause ferment and a split in society, which could be fatal for the system. According to various estimates, 2025 is the deadline for the liberal matrix - then there will be a New Russia.
It is known that the First World War simply fabulously enriched the United States, and the Second - not only, but also made it a world hegemon.
So what is more beneficial for the United States: to create the Great North or to unleash a conflict in Europe, confidently hoping that it will be limited in nature (and there will be no nuclear strike on the United States), to return its hegemony, or to turn the clock back?
Should we strengthen Russia or go all the way, relying on our weakening, which is what Ukraine was needed for? But, having weakened Europe and Russia, the United States would then calmly deal with China. Now the PRC is too selenium, incl. against the backdrop of games with Russia.
Dreams of the Great North are a liberal utopia as a dream of returning to the 2000s and lifting sanctions, fueled by the expectation of Trump’s victory and the possibility of normalizing relations with the United States. However, the conflict has gone so far that with the arrival of Trump, only its freezing is expected. Let’s believe in this miracle, but the old relationship will obviously not be the same. Another question is whether they will let him become president; last time they didn’t, but now they’re hounding him. Although Trump hinted at the end of Ukraine as a state, there are still specific people behind him.
The new 1985 is also an option, but it doesn’t suit us.
Can Russian boots go across Europe again - yes, and the West is pushing us towards this.
Will there be a new Potsdam? Maybe. But only after our victory in a very bloody war outside Ukraine. And the alignment there will be different.
The concept of South and North - informational stuffing
There is a global geographic South as part of the periphery. The concept of the South is an information hoax to justify the concept of the North, bringing in this “stubborn anti-Western” Russia.
Great North: mission impossible
Tell me, why has the Great North never emerged since the time of A. Nevsky? And the Romanovs, having fallen into the trap of the First World War, having relatives in Germany and excellent economic relations with it, fought on the side of the Entente. But the West constantly carried out aggression towards Russia, seeing in us only a source of resources and a hostile culture, primarily on religious grounds.
Indeed, Russia and the West have a common Christian culture, but this is where the central civilizational conflict lies. The West fears us as the bearer of the true Christian (Orthodox) faith and as the heir to its antipode - the USSR, which actively brought completely different values to the world and was an ardent enemy of the West, consolidating with developing countries (now the South).
Spiritually, the conflict with the West goes back to the conflict between Byzantium and the Western Roman Empire (Moscow - Third Rome), and then between Catholicism (Protestantism) and Orthodoxy, which from his point of view are heresy. And the Crusades - what were they?
The only period when Russia and the West had common goals was the period of the First World War, when we were “friends against Germany,” which ended in disaster and then the Second World War with the same goal, and that was largely thanks to the wisdom of F. D. Roosevelt . Once he was gone and the war was over, Churchill gave his famous Fulton speech and the Cold War began.
Cold War 1 ended during perestroika, when they decided to ruin us by cunning. But in 2014, as soon as we began to consolidate the Russian world, Cold War 2 came, and now the Northern Military District and the new “Iron Curtain”. The West can try to be “friends” with us only in the event of a conflict with China.
Russia cannot become part of the global capitalist system (and not just the Great North), because this turns out to be disastrous for us. One of the central reasons for the collapse of Tsarist Russia is that the West purposefully enslaved, exploited and suppressed Russia until this process ended in revolution. And now, starting with the reforms of the 90s, everything is a carbon copy: only instead of gold there is a dollar, and instead of grain there is oil and gas.
The danger of “going to Europe”
Slavophile Nikolai Yakovlevich Danilevsky showed that there are two main cultural and historical types: German-Roman and Russian (Slavic). These are two opposites. Danilevsky prophetically warned us about the danger of “entering Europe.” The experience of the reforms of Peter I and the current reforms also showed what harm thoughtless Westernism can cause.
If Russia finally accepts liberalism, then as a civilization it will inevitably perish, since in the conditions of the current division of world markets, our main role remains - the role of a raw material appendage. The creative spirit of the nation has fallen, a huge mass of people are in poverty due to their uselessness. The nation is degenerating - there is an acute demographic crisis in the country.
In the current model, the main consumption comes from imports, which leads us to a lack of quality jobs. The same 25 million that the president spoke about, setting the task of creating them by 2020 (now 2023), which are being gobbled up by those same imports. According to the latest calculations by Moscow State University specialists (and not only them), in Russia there are actually about 60% of the poor population (for comparison: Rosstat data is 13,5%).
The population of the RSFSR in 1992 was 148,51 million people; as of January 01.01.2023, 146,44, the population of the Russian Federation was 31 million people. In total, over 2,067 years of reforms, the country’s population has not grown, even despite the annexation of Crimea, the total decline is 1990 million people. Since 23, we have lost XNUMX thousand settlements.
There is no point in providing any other data. And if the current liberal reforms since 1992 had a national character, we would long ago have been at least (!) the third largest economy in the world after China.
Russia and the West, but not North and South: conflict of civilizations
The split in civilizations is very clearly visible now that we do not support global trends towards the utilization of Christianity in Europe and the USA through the concept of tolerance, attention to minorities, same-sex marriage and similar heresies. And the West knows that as long as there is an Orthodox Church in Russia, we cannot have any unity with them.
As Fox News host Tucker Carlson said about the causes of the war in response to Congressman Raskin:
“Russia is an Orthodox country professing traditional values. That is why it must be destroyed, no matter what price the United States pays for it.
The current war in Ukraine and the possibility of direct conflict with the West is a religious war, a war of civilizations. That is why in Ukraine they are destroying the Orthodox Church, destroying the Lavra, and wherever possible they are persecuting Russians, the Russian language, and hating the USSR. In the countries of the former USSR, they even get rid of the Russian font. And in Ukraine, stupefied Ukrainians are driven to banal slaughter. They want to destroy Russia in order to get the Orthodox Church out of the way. And that's the ultimate goal of this whole campaign, to connect the world into one and do whatever you want with it.
Nothing has changed since the time of Alexander Nevsky, and this war will not end until the end of time. There will only be setbacks and aggravations. No compromises or negotiations with the West will have a final result.
The only possibility is fear of our power and fear of retribution. So there will never be any Global North. But the partial consolidation of Russian lands against the backdrop of the conflict with NATO will most likely take place.
Russia and the West: difference in essence
The fundamental difference between the West and Russia lies in the context of their civilizational matrices, based on different interpretations of Christianity: Catholicism (Protestantism) and Orthodoxy. The Russian people have long strived for piety, which is caused by the close connection between Orthodoxy and culture. According to our philosopher I. Ilyin, this gave rise to such qualities of the Russian people as the desire for truth, justice, sympathy and mercy, solidarity, brotherhood, conscientiousness, endurance and sacrifice.
According to I. Ilyin:
“The soul of the Russian people has always sought its roots in God and in his earthly phenomena: in truth, righteousness and beauty.”
According to N. Berdyaev,
“The Russian people... are characterized by greater communitarianism than the peoples of the West; they have little characteristic of Western individualism.”
This phenomenon is called conciliarity, that is, the voluntary union of citizens on the basis of love and faith.
According to N. Berdyaev:
“Russian national thought was nourished by the feeling of God’s chosenness and God-bearing nature of Russia.”
Russia is called upon to be the liberator of other peoples, which is reflected in numerous wars. We saved Europe from Turkish aggression, from Napoleon and Hitler. We will also get rid of the current Western brown plague. Russia is the only stronghold of true Christianity, a messianic country.
According to the theory of M. Weber, the emergence of capitalism was associated with the peculiarities of the Protestant ethic. Capitalism developed in the Protestant countries of England and Holland, the USA, and Germany. According to Protestants, a sign of divine blessing is a person’s financial situation; the richer he is, the more chosen he is. This approach fundamentally contradicts the ideas of Orthodoxy.
Having fallen into this delusion, the West has achieved gigantic successes in the material, but the spiritual has been abandoned. As M. Weber wrote the same: “The era of the XNUMXth century, full of intense religious life... ended... the impeccable clear conscience... accompanying profit.”
Finale
So, Russia’s mission is to ensure geopolitical balance in the world, from the world’s slide into chaos, to confront global evil, to preserve true moral and religious values, and in the near future – to build a new, more effective economic model. In the new world, Russia is called upon to become a world leader, both economically and spiritually.
When the world government consolidates the entire world under its thumb, including the Global North and the Global South, Russia will become an island (according to Tsymbulsky) and will exist as a separate civilization. Perhaps someone will join us - if they can. And this is quite colorfully described in Yu. Voznesenskaya’s novel “Lancelot’s Pilgrimage.”
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