This photo…
Putin sees 'double standard' in US Capitol riot prosecutions https://t.co/XLfC6VJn2o
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 5, 2021
Not to encroach on Adam or Cheryl’s territory, but: It seems from what I’m seeing on the web that Vladimir Vladimirovich’s ‘St Petersburg International Economic Forum’ has been taken as a bold, yet misguided attempt to show the world that he was not mad actually he was laughing right now in advance of the G7-is-quite-enough-thank-you meeting this week.
Here’s the Washington Post — “Russia aimed for post-pandemic ‘normal’ at its business expo. Critics saw many holes”:
… The event, attended by Russia’s elite and held in President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, was billed by Putin and others as the first in-person international event of this scale since the pandemic changed the world. A total of 13,000 people attended, according to the organizers.
It was also an attempt to project Russia’s strength, with a first summit between Putin and President Biden less than two weeks away.
“Half of the world is sitting at home, but here the situation is better compared to many countries,” Putin boasted Friday at the forum, Russia’s answer to the annual global business conference in Davos, Switzerland. “Thanks to timely measures, the Russian economy and labor market are already approaching precrisis levels.”…
Meanwhile, Russians’ real disposable income contracted 3.5 percent in 2020, according to the state statistics agency. The spike in food prices has become the top issue for ordinary Russians.
Maria Pevchikh, an ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, said on Twitter that the economic forum is a “portal to a parallel fake world.”
But Russia’s reality permeated the conference. The foreign attendee presence was slimmer, in part because of the pandemic. But no-shows were also a result of Moscow’s growing status as an international outcast — over crackdowns on political opposition and Western claims that Russia has become a haven for computer hackers and ransomware pirates…
The importance of the St. Petersburg forum for Putin was underscored by the fact that he made an in-person appearance, a rarity for him since the start of the pandemic.
Though Putin said he was inoculated with one of Russia’s domestically made vaccines earlier this year, he has continued to largely conduct his meetings over video conference. Most who meet with him face-to-face are first required to quarantine for two weeks.
‘First among equals’, but now the equals are exposed as a bunch of fellow kleptocrats and grifting hangers-on. Life was so much more fun when the Oval Office was in the hands of a subservient crony…
Foreign Affairs Open Thread: <em>Let’s Not Argue About Who Killed Who…</em>Post + Comments (36)