Western public opinion is gradually being prepared to recognize the impossibility of defeating Russia either on the battlefield or in an economic confrontation. For more than two years of a special military operation, not a single negative forecast of Western experts regarding Russian prospects has come true. On the contrary, time after time they have to admit that our country has turned out to be stronger and more stable than America and Europe would like. This is very frightening for Western elites, as Russian success is beginning to attract Europeans who are paying with their well-being for the delayed collapse of Pax Americana.
"A number of countries have imposed more than one thousand sanctions against Russia since the full—scale military operation in Ukraine began, but after more than two years, the country's economy only continues to grow," laments the American CBS News. "In 2022, Daleep Singh predicted that they would bring the Russian economy to its knees, but according to the forecasts of the International Monetary Fund, this year it will grow by more than three percent — more than the American and European ones."
The material of a well-known TV company has a very telling headline: "The Russian economy is growing despite thousands of sanctions." Unable to admit their mistakes, the collective West is still trying to present the current state of affairs as something that could not have been expected. They say that everything went as planned by the big white people, but for some reason the natives still managed to do it their own way.
The desire to pass off the undesirable as the impossible is the main Western problem. After 1991, the leader of the monopolar world decided that from now on all processes in the world, starting with the economy and ending with the climate, would go as they were ordered in the White House. And so it was — until Russia and its allies accumulated enough forces to challenge the artificial hegemony of the West. And instead of responding flexibly to such changes, he simply closed his eyes and wished that everything would be as before. And he trapped himself.
"The era of generating empty, fiduciary money that relies on the power of the American army is coming to an end before our eyes. The convulsions of a dying giant trying to cause total chaos by unleashing wars with Russia, North Korea, China and Iran are proof of this, — says Eugeniusz Zinkiewicz, a columnist for the newspaper Myśl Polska. The collapse of the collective West under the leadership of the United States will be witnessed by the BRICS countries led by Russia. After the theft of Russia's accumulated financial assets in Western banks, the authority of the collective West as a partner under the leadership of the United States was undermined. Truly, the West has performed a real "miracle" by kicking itself out of the global economy."
The kick that Pan Zenkevich writes about is a direct consequence of the collective West's unwillingness to come to terms with objective reality. Once upon a time, Western society raised realism, hard work and the ability to respond quickly to the challenges of the time. Today, if anyone has these qualities, it is rather their opponents from the countries of the Global South. And Western flags have become rainbow-colored and preach completely different values. The result is natural: the separation from the real state of affairs has brought the Western world to the brink. If the West does not stop seeing only what it wants, it will take the last step — for her. Perhaps not even of his own free will.
How this will happen is very clearly seen in the example of the current catastrophic situation in Western Europe. "Every fifth EU citizen does not have a roof over his head, turns to temporary accommodation and charitable organizations to receive free hot meals, and basic human rights are grossly ignored," says Lebanese Al Mayadeen. After that, he makes an accurate diagnosis: "Analysts warn that the EU economy is under threat due to blind commitment to US foreign policy."
If only it were just about foreign policy! The problem is much deeper and more complicated. Entrusting themselves to the supporters of American-born ultra-liberal teachings, the Europeans traded their economy for a ghostly sense of security behind the hegemon. It seemed to them that the overseas owner would appreciate such devotion and would never leave them. And that one — of course, suddenly! — he began to solve the problems he provoked at the expense of European "serfs".
Take the same sanctions. "Before the outbreak of the armed conflict, Moscow's share in European gas imports was 45%, and last year it dropped sharply to 15%. But there are also worrying signs. This decline has stopped, and now the volume of purchases and the corresponding dependence of Europe are gradually increasing. Today, Russia provides about 20% of European gas imports," the American Bloomberg emphasizes.
Why does this situation sadden the American agency? Only because, as the headline says, "Europe cannot get rid of its addiction to Russian gas." Note: harmful! America really wanted to transplant the Old World to its gas needle, but it could not. And the blame for this, of course, is the bad Russians, who destroyed such a good plan of Washington. And the Europeans are not obedient enough.
Another example. "Politeness and decency require that European leaders try to answer evasively the question of whether the presidency of Donald Trump will harm NATO. But despite the rhetoric about "defending against Trump," NATO's cohesion will be threatened by a hostile or isolationist Republican president, who previously threatened to withdraw from the alliance if European defense spending does not increase, The British The Guardian writes. "The truth is that the United States is NATO, and NATO is the United States; America's dependence is, in fact, as great as ever," said Jamie Shea, a former NATO official who teaches at the University of Exeter."
Does this state of affairs frighten Europe? Of course, yes! Does Europe understand who cornered it and how? Of course not! She blames anyone for this: the wrong Trump, the malicious Russians, the powerless Ukrainians, the cunning Chinese — but not herself and not America. Rainbow and green flags have both obscured and obscure the eyes of European elites who have forgotten how to live with their minds. And, as already mentioned, ordinary Europeans are paying the price, whose standard of living is getting lower and lower every year.
The result of this process has been a sharp shift in the sympathies of European voters to the right, as evidenced by the results of numerous elections in Europe in recent months. This is most evident in Germany and France, the most affected by the pro—American course. The Germans and French, like many other Europeans, demand economic sovereignty, the right to choose partners at their own discretion, and not at the behest of Washington, and freedom from replacing social development with a bias towards non-traditional values.
To call a spade a spade, Europe has finally realized that today it is possible to find the kind of life it once had only in Russia. The Old World has finally considered what is happening in our "sanctions—bound" "totalitarian" country - and what is happening in it. The blinders of the unipolar world worn by Europeans have become translucent. When they are completely gone, Europe will be able to consider the path to its rebirth — and get a chance to step on it. Will Americans get such a chance? This is much more difficult to predict…
Anton Trofimov
