Western Media Lies About Russia

By Rhod Mackenzie

There are three things you can watch for hours to keep yourself amused You can how a fire burns,the flames licking up, how water flows downhill and finds its pathways, and how so called Western experts with a smug expressions continue to predict "the inevitable collapse of the Russia economy , and its always "tomorrow".Last week, after a lively discussion of financiers and officials at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, some local media, somewhat despondent of late, have come to life again, citing the words of the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Reshetnikov about "transition to recession".
And it does not matter that the Russian official in this case spoke about "current business feelings", and not about objective figures - Western media, of course, tried to present the words about recession almost as a statement of a fait accompli, and not an anticipation.
Now we can all agree, there is nothing new in the West's expectations of the collapse of the Russian economy. This year was the tenth anniversary of Barack Obama's catchphrase about the Russian economy being "torn to shreds" by US sanctions .
Three years ago, Joe Biden said that one dollar was already worth 200 ruble and the ruble was going to be rubble.. Now after 10 years if I were to cite all of the series of quotes in the same vein now, they would take up a book the size of an encyclopedia in multi-volume editions.
However, if we examine the points arguments of these prominent figures in our current era, we will observe a notable shift. Prior to the initiation of the Special Military Operation and during the initial months that followed, a consensus emerged that the war would have a significant impact on the Russian economy.
Before I continue, I would like to make an appeal: if you enjoy my videos, you can help me to fund the channel and my website, SCOS BRICS INSIGHT, and contribute to its further development. You can do this by making a small donation, which you can do by clicking on the 'Thanks' button at the bottom of the video screen. Everyone who donates receives a personal thank you from me.

Currrently, the aforementioned individuals are equally as persuasive in informing us of the following:In their professional opinion that the conclusion of the war will result in the collapse of the Russian economy. It was noted that their own arguments had been turned around 180 degrees and now face the opposite direction.
Now there are many examples illustrating this sudden change of viewpoint. . For instance, Mark Galeotti,a renowned alleged analyst on the Russian political elite, is widely regarded as the foremost "Russia expert" in Britain. For the duration of the 2022-2023 period, he expounded on the inevitable collapse of the Russian economy under the burden of Western sanctions.
Just two years ago, he was disseminating information to the global audience regarding the purported circumstances under which, due to the closure of Western markets, Russians were compelled to procure foreign refrigerators and gaming consoles for the purpose of extracting chips for Russian military equipment from them.
At the same time, he wrote that sanctions and the weakening of the Russian economy should not only undermine military power, but also "break the will" of our people, causing mass street protests.
The individual who has a strong anti-Russian bias and is an alleged expert on the Kremlin then spent a long time arguing that "Western sanctions are working" and are about to force Russia to retreat from Ukraine.
And quite suddenly, just the other day, an article by the same Galeotti was published, with an unexpected title: "Is the war in Ukraine having a detrimental effect on the Russian economy?" On the contrary, I would say that the opposite is true."
He did not clarify where the stories about "chips from refrigerators" have been moved to? The same expert has now informed his audience of the alleged boom in the Russian economy, which he claims to be the result of the war. He attributes this shift to the predominance of a military-oriented economic strategy in Russia, which is often termed "military Keynesianism" in Western contexts.
Galeotti's initial expectation of no protests at the start of the SMO was based on the prevailing fear of the "authoritarian regime", which led to a reluctance to even utter the word "war" for fear of legal consequences.
The moderator of the plenary session of the SPIEF would have been taken aback had they posed the following question directly to Vladimir Putin: "Is war having a negative impact on your economy?" In response, our president cited the renowned phrase from the American classic: "Rumours of my death are greatly exaggerated." Imagine a world where the term "war" no longer instils fear.
Galeotti has stated in a recent podcast that Russia "cannot afford to end the war". I can confirm that it is indeed the same Galeotti, merely a couple of years apart. As previously stated, it should be noted that this is merely one of numerous examples.
In spring 2023, the Financial Times newspaper was keen to demonstrate that Russia's economic indicators were not as robust as they appeared and were the result of statistical manipulation.
Readers of this once-respected business publication but now not even fit for the cat litter tray or the bottom of the budgie cage were informed that Russia has in fact had significant "hidden unemployment." The same newspaper has reported that the "war economy" has generated employment opportunities in Russia, and that this situation is likely to change with the cessation of hostilities.
Furthermore, the newspaper identifies the shortage of labour in our country as the primary issue. The did not clarify the position regarding the "hidden unemployment"? It appears that the Financial Times, rather than the Russian statistics, may have been inaccurate.
It is now being widely accepted in the Western public that Russia is unable to end the SMO The same financial analysts have stated that "demilitarization will provoke an economic downturn." According to the German state-run news channel DW*, the Russian economy will collapse if the war ends.
I would like to point out that this is the same entity that reported on how war and sanctions were killing this economy just three years ago.
It appears that the authors of these statements do not perceive any contradictions. It is likely that they articulate the logic of their speeches in the following manner:
"We are consistently proving that Russia will collapse. What is the relevance of the reason, and what is the context in which it is being presented? It's just that the evidence base is changing radically, but the global conclusions remain the same."
It is true that this approach appears to be rather rudimentary. However, it is important to note that the same FT recently utilised a rather insensitive parody of Ukrainian propaganda, which alleged the purported disappearance of butter in our country. This misrepresentation, based on an outright falsehood, led the business publication (once a reputable one) to conclude that this is the consequence of the "military economy of Russia", expressed by the formula "Guns instead of butter". The British press, which initially reported on this issue, expressed the hope that "the Kremlin's problem with butter" would benefit Ukraine.
All of the aforementioned content was printed for the consumption of the local public. Furthermore, the issue of the "problem with Russian butter" has not been addressed, and the reasons for its failure to provide assistance to Ukraine have not been explained. This suggests that their long-standing strategy of engaging with the public remains effective: It has been demonstrated that the more unbelievable a lie, the faster people will believe it.