The United States imposed new sanctions against Russia after the latter imposed a veto to the voting of the international tribunal at the UN Security Council regarding the Malaysian “Bowing”. Russian huge oil structures like Rosneft and Vnesheconombank are subjected to the sectorial new sanctions, in particular, the Russian foundation management company, GLOBEX Bank, Prominvestbank, VEB Asia limited, VEB leasing, Vankorneft, Yuganskneftegaz, Rosneft finance, Rosneft Trade Limited, and Rosneft trading. US sanctions list also includes IZHMASH, MACO Holding, SET Petrochemicals, Southeast Trading, Southeast Trading OY, seaports of Eupatoria, Feodosia, Kerch, Sevastopol, Yalta and Kerch ferry port gate. “Today’s action underscores our resolve to maintain pressure on Russia for violating international law and fueling the conflict in eastern Ukraine,” OFAC Director John Smith said in a statement. Reset (the word «reset» was put into circulation a few years ago by the White House for normalization of the Russian-US relations – N.G.) is failed not by Obama but Putin, assured the US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul (2012-2015) in his recent interview with “Freedom”. According to him, today, the Russian-American relations are in the worst shape since the collapse of the USSR, and there is no reason for optimism. “To correct the bilateral relations, Russia should cease the support to separatists in Ukraine and withdraw from Crimea”.
How does Moscow respond to the actions of the West, which obviously are increasingly pushing Russia toward the abyss? One gets the impression that today Russia is ruled by individuals who have lost the connection with the reality. Russia has submitted a new application to the United Nations with a demand to recognize 1.2 million sq./km area of the Arctic as Russian. Russian scientists have presented numerous scientific data that assert Moscow’s claim that “the required areas are the shallows of the Russian continent.”
Recently, a remarkable process is going on in Russia. For example, the first batch of the goods in the list of the sanctions imported from EU is destroyed. The decree ordering to destruct the goods imported from the EU countries was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Samara region, a batch of pork was already destroyed by burned, which, according to “Rosselkhoznadzor” was imported with false documents. The decision on destroy of the goods found in the list of the sanction resulted in the fact that the volume of import of goods from EU through the bypass way are sharply reduced. To the question of whether this decree can be changed based on the public demand, RF President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied, “I cannot answer this question. The President’s decree comes into force and shall be binding.” In the meantime, this decree has caused a strong public reaction in Russia. The online petition against the destruction of goods has collected more than 100 thousand signatures. More than 100 thousand people is asking to lift the decree on destruction of food having a veto on import to Russia and to pass a decree on transferring these foods to needy Russians, particularly the veterans, pensioners, the disabled, multi-children families, and the victims suffered from natural disasters.
Another startling response from Russia to the West. RF Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed a draft of government charter, which restricts the state procurement of medical products. These are the condoms, antiseptic, X-ray machines, ultrasound devices, artificial lung ventilation devices, and orthopedic children’s shoe wears. The ban does not refer to the Customs Union countries. Assistant to RF Deputy Prime Minister, RF former chief sanitary doctor, famous Gennady Onishchenko assured Russian society that refusing the state procurement of foreign production condoms it not a threat to the health of Russians, on the contrary, it will help to improve the demographic situation in the country. Onishchenko literally said the following: “Rubber technical goods (condoms) have nothing to do with health, it will simply make one more disciplined, more strict and discriminating in choosing partners, and maybe will do a favor to our society in respect to solving demographic problems.” And this is said in the country where the number of the people sick with HIV is more than all the EU countries taken together, plus alcoholism and drug addicted people.
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Whether the RF government authorities make steps not adequate to the situation driven by the impasse, it’s hard to say. While, the situation in Russia is really explosive, the ruble is in a record decline stage. One dollar is 64.31 rubles, one euro is 70.05 rubles. The President of Russian firm Rosneft, Igor Sechin, has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin warning that in 2017, a deficit of gasoline is expected in Russia. The value of derivatives of Brent type of oil for September in the Moscow Stock Exchange has dropped to 49.57 dollars per barrel, while the value of derivatives of WTI type of oil for September in the Moscow Stock Exchange has reached 46.73 dollars per barrel. Moscow is trying to show the world that EaEU is engaged in serious trade economic programs. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia’s future as a major Eurasian state, the two-thirds of which is in Asia, is inseparably connected with other countries in the region. The EaEU has signed an agreement with Vietnam on a Free Trade Zone. The Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed a law, according to which, Kyrgyzstan joins the Eurasian Economic Union. Kazakhstan became the last state, which ratified the agreement of Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the EaEU. But as to how economically and financially depreciable Russia is going to establish the EaEU, nobody is talking about it.
What expects to Putin’s administration, and generally, how long he will stay in power. Many will agree that these questions are sounded early. But the point that Putin’s administration can face serious threats, this should not be ruled out also. The tension with the West has resulted in the decline in foreign investments, hundreds of banks are standing on the verge of collapse. No major protest actions, of course, have taken place in Russia, Putin’s rating continues to remain high, the overwhelming majority of Russian society believes that the defense sector is more primary than the country’s economic development. But whether this situation can be maintained long.
EMMA GABRIELYAN
