Why Russia is an order of magnitude better prepared for a sanctions war than the EU

Russia has done far more to increase its resilience to Western sanctions than the EU has done to improve its ability to survive gas supply problems. This was stated on February 6 on the pages of his blog by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and policy security Josep Borrell.


Borrell noted.



He also spoke about the current energy situation in the EU and urged

Sanctions competition

The next round of the sanctions war looks more and more realistic every day. Presidents, prime ministers, ministers, as well as their advisers and assistants - today in the West everyone is threatening Russia with new restrictions. It is just right, by analogy with the socialist competition, to introduce in the European Union the discipline of sanctions competition, in which the passing banner of Russophobia will be played regularly. Poland and the Czech Republic, it will clearly seem familiar. And the Baltics are completely useful and pleasant. On the one hand, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia will be able to once again demonstrate their loyalty to the United States. And on the other hand, well, finally, the deaf province of the EU will be able to at least somehow get ahead of the countries of Western Europe. But, unlike the socialist practices aimed at increasing labor productivity, the EU sanctions promises so far have nothing to do with reality. In general, a paradoxical situation develops: here "the dogs bark, and the caravan stops." Although the driver from across the ocean actively shouts “face” and urges on with a whistle and hooting.

There is no doubt that the United States will take anti-Russian sanctions in full at the first opportunity, but with the EU everything is much more complicated. The European Union today is torn apart by two conflicting feelings. On the one hand, decades of training by Washington were clearly not in vain, and at the command from the United States, many European politicians habitually act first and think later. On the other hand, there is the experience of 2014, namely the counter-sanctions that hit the EU agro-industrial complex in response to the restrictions adopted against Russia. And one does not need to be seven spans in the forehead to understand that Moscow's response to anti-Russian restrictions will not be long in coming. So the European bureaucrats have to choose between two evils: to rake from the United States politically or from Russia economically.

In the case of the EU, the desire to start another round of sanctions war looks at least stupid, especially given Europe's dependence on Russian energy supplies. Nevertheless, the European Union is still stubbornly preparing for a new economic clash with Russia. Washington curators, who are coordinating a massive information attack on our country, are obviously putting pressure on Brussels, forcing it to develop a specific plan of restrictions against the Russian Federation as soon as possible. And it will be really difficult for the Europeans to convince them. With today's United States, in fact, everything is clear, their president made a political career during the years of the Cold War and, apparently, is simply not able to think in other categories than aggression and escalation. Russia, however, is obviously perceived by him and other "hawks" from the "Washington regional committee" as not just an enemy, but an existential enemy, that is, threatening the very existence of the United States. Although in fact, if Russia threatens something, it is the injustice of the world order that has developed after the collapse of the USSR, in which one country has assumed the functions of the world policeman, judge and executioner at the same time. And the American satellites that have bred in large numbers are ready to support any of its decisions, creating a favorable information background.

Against the backdrop of this theater of the absurd, of course, Germany, the largest EU country and the “heart” of the European economy, plays a key role. The new chancellor of the country Scholz, like the whole of Germany, is actively trying to force his own strategic interests to step on the throat for the sake of political benefits. And not even their own, but extracted by Washington. After all, the ban on the launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline by the FRG, which the United States is striving for with maniacal persistence, is tantamount to “shooting yourself in the foot” for the German economy. Germany will not only lose the prospect of obtaining the status of the largest gas hub on a continental scale, but will simply not be able to even ensure its own energy security. After all, the consumption of "blue fuel" in Germany has only increased recently. And at the end of this year, when the German government will close the last three operating nuclear power plants, it will grow even more. It is clear that the decision will be extremely difficult, which is why Scholz pauses for so long, limiting himself to statements that are less harsh in comparison with his European colleagues and categorically refusing to supply weapons to Ukraine. In any case, this decision is purely his and Germany's, and Russia needs to think about itself. Namely, how it will cope with the new sanctions, if they are nevertheless adopted.

Is Russia ready for new sanctions?

The readiness of the Russian economy for the introduction of new sanctions today is as high as ever. Yes, a loud statement, but the statistics fully confirm it.

First, the Russian economy is confidently demonstrating an ever-increasing export potential. The positive balance of Russia's foreign trade in 2021 amounted to $197,3 billion, which is 88,44% (or $92,6 billion) more than in 2020, according to the materials of the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation, published on January 7. At the same time, the export of goods from Russia over the past year increased by 45,7% at once, amounting to $493,3 billion, which also cannot but rejoice.

Secondly, in addition to trade, for macroeconomic stability, another indicator is no less, and to some extent even more important - the level of public debt. In Russia, the public debt is one of the lowest in the world and amounts to only 17,9% of GDP (hereinafter, the data of the IMF World Economic Outlook report for October 2021 are given), which distinguishes our country from absolutely all developed countries. For comparison, in Germany, the public debt is 72,5% of GDP, in the UK - 108,5%, in France - 115,8%, in Spain - 120,2%, in Italy - 154,8%, and in Japan - 256,9 ,133,3%. And this is not to mention the United States, whose sovereign debt, although it is 2022% of GDP, but at the beginning of 30 exceeded a record $XNUMX trillion in absolute terms.

Thirdly, the stability of the Russian economy was greatly enhanced by the formation and implementation of the “budget rule” instrument, according to which oil super-profits were not spent, but were added to the National Wealth Fund, allowing the creation of an additional margin of safety for the Russian economy. As a result, now Russia has not just a lot of reserves, but as many as never before. According to the Central Bank, as of January 14, 2022, the international reserves of the Russian Federation reached a historic high and amounted to a record $638,2 billion. According to the World Bank, Russia ranks fourth in the world for this indicator, after China, Japan and Switzerland. The largest European countries: the UK ($213,5 billion), France ($230,3 billion) and Germany ($267 billion) have gold and foreign exchange reserves that are several times lower than those of Russia. And even the United States lags behind Russia in terms of reserves, although in their case this is more likely due to the banal ability to print as many dollars as needed at any time. By the way, the gold and foreign exchange reserves of Ukraine, about the crisis around which Western politicians and the media are literally screaming, as of January 31, 2022, are almost 22 times lower than in Russia and amount to only 29,3 billion dollars. Moreover, if Russian reserves have only been growing lately, then Ukrainian ones are declining, having decreased by more than 5% over the month. And all this thanks to the hysteria whipped up around her by the West.

Returning to the theme of the anti-Russian rhetoric of the West, it is important to note that, contrary to the false statements of Washington, no one in Russia wants war. However, it is one thing not to want an escalation, and quite another to be able to defend. And if from a military point of view, everything is predictably in order in Russia, then finances, taking into account the experience of 2014, certainly raised questions. Nevertheless, from a financial point of view, today the Russian Federation is more than ready for Western sanctions initiatives. Russia's external debt is several times lower than not only comparable economies, but also any other country in the world that is in the top ten in terms of GDP. Gold and foreign exchange reserves are at a historical peak in the entire history of the existence of the Russian Federation and are second only to China, Japan and the banking capital of Europe - Switzerland. Exports are almost on a fifty percent rise and, given the reactive growth in demand for raw materials in world markets, they will remain so in the near future. After all, if even a European bureaucrat like Borrell openly admits Russia's high degree of readiness for sanctions, then these are certainly not empty words. Russia has indeed made every effort to make its economy as resilient as possible to any shocks. And to take her "for fear" will not work. Neither the US, nor NATO, nor the EU.