Translated material
The president tried to reassure everyone. It turned out unconvincing
Puts of Vladimir Putin at the forum "Russia Calling!" Many were looking forward to. True, according to the “daily magazine”, this event, organized by VTB Bank, caused a not unambiguous reaction in the presidential administration. Rather, even not the event itself, but its name. It seemed to some influential dignitaries that in the phrase "Russia is calling!" There is something derogatory, not corresponding to the status and position of the great power. But, be that as it may, the habit of capturing important trends in the speeches of the first persons has not gone anywhere. And everyone reached the ears. The president did not seem to deceive his expectations - he said a little about everything. Another question is how, after his performance, the picture of the Russian world became clearer and more understandable.
So, analyzing the situation around the scandal with Bashneft, Vladimir Putin expectedly assured the audience that he was not going to intervene in the course of the investigation. At the same time, the president expressed the hope that "all decisions would not lie in the criminal, but in the civil law, in the arbitration plane." And how to understand this? Especially considering the fact that a criminal case has been instituted against Vladimir Yevtushenkov under an article that provides for severe punishment, he himself is under house arrest, and his lawyers still cannot mitigate a preventive measure, despite the proposed astronomical security of 300 million rubles.
Of course, Putin did not ignore the topic of sanctions. He called the sanctions “nonsense”, spoke about them with demonstrative indifference and made it clear that the restrictive measures of the West only strengthen the Russian economy. Say, “external restrictions create an additional incentive for Russia to achieve results in priority areas of development” ... It seemed that the president was about to thank the leaders of the Western world for actions that stimulate the growth of the Russian economy, but it still has not reached that. Putin was limited to dry statement that sanctions are harmful to all economies in the world. However, despite the fact that sanctions will damage many countries, the Russian budget will help only domestic business and, above all, the financial sector. What, however, no one particularly doubted.
Speaking of general about the state of our economy, the president showed hard restrained optimism. True, it is difficult to say whether he managed to infect the audience with this optimism and how much his arguments seemed convincing to them. Speaking about the factors that ensure sustainable development, the president allocated a “deficiency budget, significant reserves, strong payment balance”. None of the audience, of course, began to object to the president, although there is no doubt that many sitting in the hall would have enough arguments so as not to refute the theses expressed, then at least subject them to serious revision. In the end, a mysterious phrase sounded from the lips of the speaker - “The events of this year once again convinced us of the correctness of the choice that we made many years ago.”
Perhaps in Russia there are analysts and political scientists who can explain to the respected public, which, in fact, are we talking about. Unfortunately, your humble servant is not one of them ...