Putin is concerned about Russian sovereignty

“Almost nothing has changed. Marvelous! Somehow you come to this awareness, to this understanding,” Putin came to this conclusion after visiting an exhibition dedicated to the reformer tsar.

Citing Peter’s “Northern War” (1700-1721) as an example, Putin stated: “He (Peter) did not reject anything, he began to return back! The whole Ladoga area,  where St. Petersburg was founded. When he founded the new capital, none of the European countries recognized this territory as Russia, everyone recognized it as Sweden. And there, from time immemorial, along with the Finno-Ugric peoples, the Slavs lived, and this territory was under the control of the Russian state. The same is true in the western direction, this applies to Narva, his first campaigns. Why did he go there?  He began to return  and strengthening everything - that's what he did. Apparently,  we also have to return and strengthen. And if we proceed from the fact that these basic values ​​form the basis of our existence, we will certainly succeed in solving the tasks that we face.”

The world press, under the influence of the Ukrainian war, seized on this part of Putin's appeal to young people, the analogy with which arises because of the goals and objectives of Putin, which he announced in relation to Ukraine - it is an artificial formation and Russia is returning the lands on which this state arose .

But more important in Putin's speech is an attempt to substantiate his own policy,  the main edge  of which is the sovereignty of the country. This is what he had in mind when he addressed the audience "What would you like to say first?".

“And in order to claim some kind of leadership - I'm not talking about global leadership, but at least in something - of course, any country, any people, any ethnic group must ensure its sovereignty. Because there are no intermediate components, an intermediate state: either the country is sovereign, or a colony, no matter how the colonies are called.

He believes that if a country and a group of countries are unable to make sovereign decisions, it is already a colony that has no historical prospects and no chance of survival.

“Yes, there were eras in the history of our country when we had to retreat, but only in order to gather our strength to move forward, concentrate and move forward.”

In the past 10 years, Putin third time  has used the motto “Russia is focusing”. This phrase, as an indicator, testifies to the internal tension both of him personally and of the country as a whole.

The motto belongs to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire (from 1856 to 1882) Alexander Gorchakov and was sanctioned by Emperor Alexander II after the defeat of Russia in the Crimean Company (1853-1856): “Russia is reproached for isolating itself and being silent in the face of such facts which are not in harmony with either law or justice. They say that Russia is angry. Russia is not angry, Russia is concentrating.”

A dispatch including this phrase was sent to the powers opposing Russia, and set out the main principles of the foreign policy of the Russian Empire at that time, namely: the refusal to further support the principles approved by the "Holy Alliance" (established by the Christian states of Europe in 1815 after the final overthrow of Napoleon Bonaparte with the aim of ensuring the peaceful coexistence and liberalization of European countries), and active participation in international affairs. Russia's policy was declared "national" and provided for the development of internal forces. The Russian government declared that it did not intend to sacrifice the interests of the country in the name of any abstract principles and obligations. Subsequently, this "sovereign" contradictory policy led to the death of Alexander II from the death of terrorists, and subsequently to the eternal backwardness of Russia, as a state of extremes, rushing between freedom and dictatorship.

For the first time, Putin remembered Gorchakov on January 16, 2012, on the eve of the presidential elections. The newspaper "Izvestia" published his article "Russia is concentrating - the challenges we must meet." Although they claim that he wrote the article himself, it was not his style. The article was compiled from a set of theses that he reads today at government meetings. And in fact, it did not meet the requirements of either the Gorchakov's dispatch or Putin's current claims.

The second time he used the slogan “Russia is not angry, Russia is focusing” on December 23, 2021, at a big wrap-up press conference, at a time when the Western world was talking about Russia preparing to invade Ukraine.

“Russia is not angry, Russia is concentrating. The escalation began in 2014. Until now, despite the fact that the USSR ceased to exist, we have come to terms with this. And they worked and were ready to work with all governments,” Putin said.

The collective meaning of sovereignty (Sovereignty is the independence of the state in external and supremacy in internal affairs. Free, independent of any external forces, the rule of state power. The concept of sovereignty expresses the general property of any state), the President of Russia forms four types of sovereignties:

1. military-political sovereignty, and here, of course, it is important to be able to make sovereign decisions in the sphere of domestic and foreign policy, to ensure security.

2. economic sovereignty: to develop in such a way that in basic areas of development it does not depend on anyone in critical technologies, in what ensures the viability of society and the state.

3. technological sovereignty

4. public sovereignty. This is the ability of society to consolidate to solve national problems, this is respect for its history, for its culture, for its language, for the peoples who live on a single territory. This consolidation of society is one of the key, basic conditions for development. If there is no such consolidation, everything will fall apart.

Putin sees these types of sovereignties as part of a coherent, interacting whole. “I listed: first, second, third, fourth. But in fact, you can reverse the order and start from the last and then from any point. Why? Because one does not exist without the other. How to achieve external security, say, without technological capabilities, technological sovereignty? Impossible".

The subsequent questions of the young innovators and Putin's answers as a whole were far from the topic and problems of his opening speech and were focused on individual areas of science. This means that Putin chose the date of Peter's anniversary and the meeting at VDNKh to set the agenda for the upcoming St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. And this means that he invites interested international circles to discuss the issue of Russia's sovereignty, which is under threat. And the war with Ukraine is just another attempt to protect the sovereignty of Russia.

Putin once said that the St. Petersburg street taught him to strike first even in a hopeless situation.

“Even 50 years ago, a Leningrad street taught me one rule: if a fight is inevitable, you must strike first,” Putin said in October 2015.

According to the Kremlin, his attack on Ukraine is presented as a preemptive action that prevented an attack on Russia by the West.

It is difficult to judge how true this is, since Moscow has not yet presented real evidence of some impending blitzkrieg of the West against Russia. However, from the point of view of the rapidly changing world, which Putin states, Russia has actually and obviously begun to lag behind in all four types of sovereignty. Russia, despite all the efforts of Putin's 20-year rule, has in fact failed to ensure sustainable sovereignty in all four respects, which has been seriously eroded after the collapse of the USSR.

The war with Ukraine exposed these problems and made them obvious. There is a military-political, economic, technological and social crisis. But these are not the consequences of the war, but the causes that led to the war. In 2015, Putin’s thesis was heard: “Why do we need such a world if there is no Russia in it?” and implying a preference for nuclear war over a colonial future, already then sounded like an alarm.

An example of Peter, like the nuclear one, like the idea of ​​recreating the USSR, is Putin's blackmail. Russia does not need expansion. What did the expansion at the expense of Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea, Donbass give, except as an additional burden for the country suffering financial difficulties? This means that the seizure of territories is just an attempt to invite the West to a dialogue about the fate of Russia and guarantees that it is not destined for a colonial fate.

In his address to the participants of the 25th anniversary St. Petersburg forum, Putin notes: “The long-term mistakes of Western countries in economic policy and illegitimate sanctions have led to a wave of global inflation, to the destruction of the usual logistics and production chains, to a sharp increase in poverty and food shortages. But, as it happens, along with challenges, prospects open up. That is why the motto of the Forum - "New World - New Opportunities" seems so relevant.

He expressed his conviction that “for Russia, the 2020s will become a period of strengthening economic sovereignty, which provides for the accelerated development of its own infrastructural and technological base, a qualitative increase in the level of training of specialists, as well as the formation of an independent and efficient financial system. At the same time, the Russian economy will increasingly rely on private initiative and, of course, will maintain its course towards openness and broad international cooperation.”

However, preparations for the forum indicate that the West does not intend to use this platform to start a dialogue with Russia about the fate of its sovereignty. There is no traditional information about forum participants on the forum website, both from among countries, officials, and foreign business and think tanks.

The 2021 forum was attended by 13,500 participants from 141 countries, 43 foreign ministers, 5,000 companies.