
© Public Domain
In an all-encompassing
address to the plenary session of the 19th annual meeting of the Valdai Club,
President Putin delivered no less than a devastating, multi-layered critique of unipolarity.From Shakespeare to the assassination of Gen Soleimani; from musings on spirituality to the structure of the UN; from Eurasia as the cradle of human civilization to the interconnection of BRI, SCO and the INSTC; from nuclear dangers to that peripheral peninsula of Eurasia "blinded by the idea that Europeans are better than others", the address painted a Brueghel-esque canvas of the "historical milestone" facing us, in the middle of "the most dangerous decade since the end of WWII."
Putin even ventured that, in the words of the classics, "the situation is, to a certain extent, revolutionary" as "the upper classes cannot, and the lower classes do not want to live like this anymore". So everything is in play, as "the future of the new world order is being shaped before our eyes."Way beyond a catchy slogan about the game the West is playing, "bloody, dangerous and dirty", the address and Putin's interventions
at the subsequent Q&A should be analyzed as a coherent vision of past, present and future. Here we offer just a few of the highlights:
"The world is witnessing the degradation of world institutions, the erosion of the principle of collective security, the substitution of international law for 'rules'".
"Even at the height of the Cold War, nobody denied the existence of the culture and art of the Other. In the West, any alternative point of view is declared subversive."
"The Nazis burned books. Now the Western fathers of 'liberalism' are banning Dostoevsky."
"There are at least two 'Wests'. The first is traditional, with a rich culture. The second is aggressive and colonial."
"Russia has not and does not consider itself an enemy of the West.
Russia tried to build relations with the West and NATO - to live together in peace and harmony. Their response to all cooperation was simply 'no'.""We do not need a nuclear strike on Ukraine, there is no point - neither political nor military."
"In part" the situation between Russia and Ukraine can be considered a civil war: "When creating Ukraine, the Bolsheviks endowed it with primordially Russian territories - they gave it all of Little Russia, the entire Black Sea region, the entire Donbass. Ukraine evolved as an artificial state."
"Ukrainians and Russians are one people - this is a historical fact. Ukraine has evolved as an artificial state. The only country that can guarantee its sovereignty is the country which created it - Russia."
"The unipolar world is coming to an end. The West is incapable of single-handedly ruling the world. The world stands at a historical milestone ahead of the most dangerous and important decade since World War II."
"Humanity has two options - either we continue accumulating the burden of problems that is certain to crush all of us, or we can work together to find solutions."
Comment: Claws extended, US accusations and condemnations will not repair the rift with Saudi Arabia.