On Wednesday, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was touting a ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ to the war in Ukraine (see Proposed ‘Fifteen Point Peace Plan’ in Russia-Ukraine War Is a Total Defeat for Putin, but Zelensky Is Biding His Time), President Vladimir Putin gave a speech that did not indicate that he had any intention of settling for less than total victory in Ukraine and signaled a crackdown on elements of his own society.

The first part of the speech repeats his litany of complaints about Ukraine, the hardships imposed on the people of Donetsk and Luhansk (he never mentions that their hardship is 100% self-inflicted by them entering into a state of insurrection, and he never mentions that Russia fomented that insurrection and bears primary responsibility for those hardships), and the indignities suffered by Noble Russia at the hands of NATO and their stooges in Ukraine.

Putin indicates that the economic sanctions are working as he lays about at every imaginable social and economic trope from “property rights” to “canceling” to the dollar’s weakness.

He also gives a hat tip to the biolabs that some claim are producing biological weapons in Ukraine under the direction of the US government; see The Liar’s Paradox and Why We Should Not Trust the US Government’s Word About Biological Weapons Labs in Ukraine.

In his speech, Putin again claims that Ukraine was plotting bloody war against Russia. He also refers to the necessity of “denazifying” Ukraine, his terminology for getting rid of the Zelensky government, and “demilitarizing” the country or disarming it. Somehow this is supposed to create a “neutral’ state rather than a Russian puppet, according to folks like Douglas MacGregor. This, as I’ve said before, makes it extremely difficult to find any face-saving formula for a peace settlement as the current facts on the ground indicate that neither Zelensky nor the Ukrainian Armed Forces are likely to agree to disappear.

It is the last section of the speech that is the most foreboding. If taken in context with current events, it indicates that Putin knows he can’t rely on the loyalty of the “oligarchs” who control the Russian economy…and who have had their stuff confiscated by Western governments.

The list of Russian luxury mega-yachts confiscated by authorities around Europe grows by the day. And there's more to go. https://t.co/sWVg6rxiHJ

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 17, 2022

Yes, of course, they will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on national traitors, on those who earn money here, with us, but live there, and “live” not even in the geographical sense of the word, but in their own way. thoughts, in his slavish consciousness.

I am not at all judging those who have a villa in Miami or the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms. The problem is absolutely not in this, but, I repeat, in the fact that many of these people, by their very nature, are mentally located precisely there, and not here, not with our people, not with Russia. This is what they think – in their opinion! – a sign of belonging to a higher caste, to a higher race. Such people are ready to sell their own mother, if only they were allowed to sit in the hallway of this very highest caste. They want to be like her, imitating her in every possible way. But they forget or do not understand at all that if they are needed by this so-called higher caste, then as a consumable material in order to use them to inflict maximum damage on our people.

Putin went on to try and rally average Russians to his cause.

The collective West is trying to split our society, speculating on military losses, on the socio-economic consequences of sanctions, to provoke a civil confrontation in Russia and, using its fifth column, is striving to achieve its goal. And there is only one goal, I have already spoken about this, the destruction of Russia.

But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths, spit them out on the panel. I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges.

The so-called collective West and its fifth column are accustomed to measuring everything and everyone by themselves. They believe that everything is for sale and everything is bought, and therefore they think that we will break down, retreat. But they do not know our history and our people well.

Yes, many countries in the world have long resigned themselves to living with their backs bent and obsequiously accepting all the decisions of their sovereign, looking obsequiously into his eyes. This is how many countries live. Unfortunately, also in Europe.

But Russia will never be in such a miserable and humiliated state, and the struggle we are waging is a struggle for our sovereignty, for the future of our country and our children. We will fight for the right to be and remain Russia. An example for us is the courage and steadfastness of our soldiers and officers, the faithful defenders of the Fatherland.

Here Putin is singling out anyone who is not toeing the line on the invasion of Ukraine as “scum and traitors.” His extolling the virtues of “a natural and necessary self-purification of society” implies that he will set that process into motion. This is how Putin’s Mini-Me, press secretary Dmitry Peskov summed it up.

Peskov: "Many are showing their essence – they are traitors. They vanish from our lives on their own. Some quit their jobs, some leave active service, some leave the country and move to others. That's how [Russia] is cleansed. Some break the law and are punished by the courts."

— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 17, 2022

Peskov’s use of “cleansed,” in particular, seems ominous given the history of Stalin and the Holodomor.

Human rights lawyer Daniil Berman says state investigators in Moscow have been told tacitly to wrap up all their economic crimes cases ASAP because next month they’ll be inundated with new cases against various “traitors.” Putin’s Terror is coming if it isn’t already here. pic.twitter.com/baZlQuFfPu

— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 17, 2022

One has to ask what would prompt Putin to give such a speech now? The speech does nothing to move a cease-fire and peace agreement closer. In fact, his harping on all the bad things that have happened in Donbas since the Russians instigated a revolt there and on all the mean things said about Russia and his whinging about “denazification” seem calculated to make a peace deal impossible.

A possible explanation is that Putin sees cracks appearing in Russian society that are not yet apparent to either the clods who manage our Intelligence Community or the inbreds in the State Department. By directing some of his ire at the super-wealthy Russians who are being hurt by sanctions and who prefer life outside of Russia, he is both signaling the loyalty problem that is developing among the oligarchs and setting them up as a common enemy.

Putin’s phrase equating “speculating on military losses” with the actions of a Fifth Column hint that Russian casualties are becoming an issue. Putin is well aware that the current draftee class is demobilized starting April 1. At the same time, a new draftee class will be inducted over a three-month period. During the Soviet era, draft resistance was a major problem for the Red Army. If a wave of draft resistance takes off because of casualties in Ukraine, the current Russian Army will collapse unless Putin makes some very tough calls that will reveal his claim that “the operation is developing successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans” as a bald-faced lie.

In my judgment, we’re already seeing power centers begin their jockeying for power, see Trouble in Paradise: Putin Arrests Senior FSB Officers Over Ukraine Fiasco and Top General in Putin’s Personal Army Is Arrested by FSB. If Putin’s speech doesn’t rally the Russian man-in-the-street to the cause of fighting the West and conquering Ukraine and if the oligarchs and FSB hierarchy and military brass become disenchanted, we could have an interesting half-year or so.

Transcript via Google Translate of Russia President’s Website

We are meeting at a difficult time when our Armed Forces are conducting a special military operation in Ukraine and Donbas. Let me remind you that at the very beginning, in the early morning of February 24, I publicly and openly named the reasons and the main goal of Russia’s actions. This is help to our people in the Donbass, who for almost eight years by the most barbaric methods – blockade, large-scale punitive actions, terrorist attacks and constant artillery shelling – were subjected to real genocide. And for what? Only because they sought elementary human rights – to live according to the laws and traditions of their ancestors, to speak their native language, to raise their children the way they want.

At the same time, the Kiev authorities not only ignored, sabotaged throughout all these years the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures for the Peaceful Settlement of the Crisis, but at the end of last year they even publicly refused to implement it.

They have also begun the practical implementation of plans to join NATO. Moreover, there were also statements by the Kiev authorities about their intention to create now their own nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles. It was a real threat. Already in the foreseeable future, with foreign technical assistance, the pro-Nazi regime in Kyiv could get its hands on weapons of mass destruction, and the target for it, of course, would be Russia.

In Ukraine, there was also a network of dozens of laboratories, where, under the direction and financial support of the Pentagon, military biological programs were carried out, including experiments with samples of coronavirus, anthrax, cholera, African swine fever and other deadly diseases. The traces of these secret programs are now strenuously trying to cover up. But we have every reason to believe that in the immediate vicinity of Russia, on the territory of Ukraine, in fact, components of biological weapons were created.

Our repeated warnings that such a development poses a direct threat to Russia’s security have been dismissed by Ukraine, their patrons from the US and NATO, and with ostentatious and cynical disdain.

Thus, all diplomatic possibilities were completely exhausted. We were simply left with no options to peacefully solve problems that arise through no fault of ours. And in this regard, we were simply forced to launch a special military operation.

The appearance of Russian troops near Kiev and other cities of Ukraine is not connected with the intention to occupy this country. We do not have such a goal, and I also directly stated this in my address on February 24.

As for the tactics of military operations, which was developed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and our General Staff, it has fully justified itself. And our guys – soldiers and officers – show courage and heroism, do everything in their power to avoid losses among the civilian population of Ukrainian cities.

I want to say this for the first time: at the very beginning of the operation in Donbas, the Kiev authorities, through various channels, in order to avoid senseless bloodshed, were asked not to engage in hostilities, but simply to withdraw their troops from Donbass. They didn’t want to. Well, it’s their decision. Awareness of what is happening in a real situation, on earth, will inevitably come.

The operation is developing successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans.

I note that Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a scenario of force, bloody massacre and ethnic cleansing in the Donbass. A massive attack on the Donbass and then on the Crimea was only a matter of time. And our Armed Forces thwarted these plans.

In Kyiv, they were not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against the Donbass – they were waging it. Attempts to organize sabotage and terrorist underground did not stop. In recent years, hostilities have continued in the Donbass, shelling of peaceful settlements. During this time, almost 14,000 civilians died, including children.

On March 14, as you know, a rocket attack was carried out in the center of Donetsk. It was an outright bloody terrorist attack that claimed the lives of more than 20 people. And such shelling continues all the last days. They beat indiscriminately, in the squares, with fanaticism and frenzy of the doomed – like the Nazis, who in the last days of the Third Reich tried to drag as many innocent victims as possible with them to the grave.

But what strikes with its transcendent cynicism is not only the shameless lies of Kyiv, the statements that it was Russia (thought of it!) allegedly launched a rocket at Donetsk, but also the fact that the so-called civilized Western world, the European and American press did not even notice the tragedy of Donetsk, as if nothing had happened.

It was just as hypocritically that they averted their eyes for the last eight years, when mothers in the Donbass buried their children. When old people were killed. It’s just some kind of moral degradation, complete dehumanization.

Long-term mockery of the inhabitants of Donbass could no longer be tolerated. And in order to put an end to the genocide, Russia recognized the people’s republics of Donbass, concluded treaties of friendship and mutual assistance with them. Based on these agreements, the republics turned to our country for military assistance in repelling aggression. And we provided this assistance – we simply could not, we had no right to do otherwise.

But what I want to emphasize and ask you to pay attention to is that if our troops acted only on the territory of the people’s republics, helped them liberate their land, this would not be the final decision, would not lead to peace and would not eliminate the threat at the root – for our countries, already for Russia. On the contrary, a new front line would have been laid around the Donbass and along its borders, shelling and provocations would have continued. That is, the armed conflict would drag on endlessly, fueled by the revanchist hysteria of the Kiev regime, and the NATO military infrastructure in Ukraine would be deployed even faster and more aggressively: we would be faced with the fact that the strike, offensive weapons of the Alliance are already at our borders.

I repeat – we had no other option for self-defense, for ensuring the security of Russia, except for conducting a special military operation. And all the tasks set, of course, will be solved. We will reliably ensure the security of Russia and our people and will never allow Ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against our country.

It is precisely the issues of principle for Russia, for our future – on the neutral status of Ukraine, on demilitarization and denazification – that we were ready and are ready to discuss now in the course of negotiations. Our country has done everything to organize and conduct these negotiations, realizing that it is necessary to use every opportunity to save people and their lives.

But we are convinced again and again that the Kiev regime, which its Western masters have set the task of creating an aggressive anti-Russia, is indifferent to the fate of the people of Ukraine themselves. The fact that people are dying, that hundreds of thousands, millions have become refugees, that a real humanitarian catastrophe is taking place in the cities held by neo-Nazis and their armed criminals, released from prisons, is all indifferent.

It is also obvious to us that Western patrons are simply pushing the Kiev authorities to continue the bloodshed. They are being supplied with ever new batches of weapons, supplied with intelligence, and provided with other assistance, including the dispatch of military advisers and mercenaries.

They also chose economic, financial, trade, and other sanctions against Russia as weapons, which are now hitting the Europeans and Americans themselves, by the way, through rising prices for gasoline, energy, food, through the loss of jobs associated with the Russian market. . And there is no need here, as they say, to shift from a sick head to a healthy one, blaming our country for everything.

I want ordinary citizens of Western states to hear me too: they are now persistently trying to convince you that all your difficulties are the result of some kind of hostile actions of Russia, that you have to pay for the fight against the mythical Russian threat from your own wallet. All this is a lie.

And the truth is that the current problems faced by millions of people in the West are the result of many years of actions by the ruling elites of their states, their mistakes, myopia and ambitions. These elites are not thinking about how to improve the lives of their citizens in Western countries. They are obsessed with their own vested interests and super profits.

Evidence of this is the data of international organizations, which directly say that social problems, even in leading Western countries, have only worsened in recent years, that inequality is growing, the gap between rich and poor, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of the Western welfare society, of the so-called golden billion, is collapsing.

I repeat, today the entire planet has to pay the price precisely for the ambitions of the West, for its attempts by any means to maintain its elusive dominance.

The imposition of sanctions is a logical continuation, a concentrated expression of the irresponsible, short-sighted policy of the governments and central banks of the US and EU countries. It was they who, in recent years, with their own hands dispersed the spiral of world inflation, by their actions led to an increase in global poverty and inequality, to new flows of refugees around the world. And the question arises: who is now responsible for the millions of starvation deaths in the world’s poorest countries due to the growing food shortage?

I repeat, a serious blow has been dealt to the entire global economy and trade, to confidence and to the US dollar as the main reserve currency.

Thus, illegitimate actions to freeze part of the Bank of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves draw a line under the reliability of the so-called first-class assets. In fact, both the US and the EU have declared a real default on their obligations to Russia. Now everyone knows that financial reserves can simply be stolen. And seeing this, many countries in the near future can begin – I’m sure this will happen – to convert their paper and digital savings into real reserves in the form of commodities, land, food, gold, and other real assets, which will only increase the deficit in these markets.

I will add that the seizure of foreign assets, accounts of Russian companies and individuals is a lesson for national business, that there is nothing more reliable than investing in your own country. I have spoken about this personally on several occasions.

We appreciate the position of those foreign companies that, despite shameless pressure from the United States and its vassals, continue to work in our country. In the future, they will certainly receive additional opportunities for development.

We also know those who cowardly betrayed their partners, forgot about their responsibility to employees and clients in Russia, and hastened to earn illusory dividends by participating in the anti-Russian campaign. At the same time, unlike Western countries, we will respect property rights.

What do I want to highlight? We must clearly understand that a new package of sanctions and restrictions against us would have followed in any eventuality. I want to emphasize this. For the West, our military operation in Ukraine is just a pretext for new sanctions. Yes, of course, they are now concentrated. But in the same way [the occasion] was for them, for Westerners, the referendum in Crimea, which, by the way, took place on March 16, 2014, exactly eight years ago, during which Crimeans and Sevastopol residents made their free choice – to be together with their historical homeland.

I repeat: it’s just about reasons. But the policy of containment, weakening Russia, including through economic isolation, blockade, is a conscious, long-term strategy. The leaders of the West themselves no longer hide the fact that the sanctions are not directed against individuals or companies, their goal is to strike at our entire domestic economy, our social and humanitarian sphere, every family, every citizen of Russia.

In fact, such steps aimed at worsening the lives of millions of people have all the signs of aggression, war by economic, political, and informational means. It has a total, undisguised character, and, I repeat, the so-called Western political beau monde does not even hesitate to speak about it in plain text.

All verbal tinsel about political correctness, inviolability of private property, freedom of speech – all this flew off overnight. Even the Olympic principles were trampled on. They did not hesitate to settle scores with the Paralympic athletes – this is such a “sport outside of politics”.

In many Western countries, people are subjected to real persecution just because they are from Russia: they refuse medical care, expel children from schools, deprive their parents of their jobs, ban Russian music, culture, and literature. Trying to “cancel” Russia, the West tore off all the masks of decency, began to act boorishly, demonstrated its true nature. It just begs a direct analogy with the anti-Semitic pogroms that the Nazis staged in Germany in the 30s of the last century, and then their henchmen from many European countries who joined Hitler’s aggression against our country during the Great Patriotic War.

A massive attack has also been launched against Russia in cyberspace. An unprecedented information campaign has been unleashed, which involves global social networks and all Western media, the objectivity and independence of which turned out to be just a myth. Access to information is limited, people are stuffed with a huge number of fakes, propaganda forgeries, in other words, linden. It got to the point that one of the American social networks directly announced the possibility of publications calling for the murder of Russian citizens.

We understand what resources this empire of lies has, but it is still powerless against truth and justice. Russia will consistently bring its position to the attention of the whole world. And our position is honest and open, and more and more people hear, understand and share it.

I want to be very frank: behind the hypocritical talk and today’s actions of the so-called collective West, there are hostile geopolitical goals. They do not need, they simply do not need a strong and sovereign Russia, they will not forgive us either our independent course or the fact that we are defending our national interests.

We remember how they supported separatism, terrorism, encouraging terrorists and bandits in the North Caucasus. As in the 1990s – early 2000s, they now again, once again want to repeat their attempt to put the squeeze on us, put some pressure on us, as they say, drive beyond Mozhai, as people say, turn into a weak, dependent country, violate the territorial integrity, dismember Russia in the best possible way for them. It didn’t work out then, and it won’t work out now.

Yes, of course, they will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on national traitors, on those who earn money here, with us, but live there, and “live” not even in the geographical sense of the word, but in their own way. thoughts, in his slavish consciousness.

I am not at all judging those who have a villa in Miami or the French Riviera, who cannot do without foie gras, oysters or so-called gender freedoms. The problem is absolutely not in this, but, I repeat, in the fact that many of these people, by their very nature, are mentally located precisely there, and not here, not with our people, not with Russia. This is what they think – in their opinion! – a sign of belonging to a higher caste, to a higher race. Such people are ready to sell their own mother, if only they were allowed to sit in the hallway of this very highest caste. They want to be like her, imitating her in every possible way. But they forget or do not understand at all that if they are needed by this so-called higher caste, then as a consumable material in order to use them to inflict maximum damage on our people.

The collective West is trying to split our society, speculating on military losses, on the socio-economic consequences of sanctions, to provoke a civil confrontation in Russia and, using its fifth column, is striving to achieve its goal. And there is only one goal, I have already spoken about this, the destruction of Russia.

But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths, spit them out on the panel. I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to respond to any challenges.

The so-called collective West and its fifth column are accustomed to measuring everything and everyone by themselves. They believe that everything is for sale and everything is bought, and therefore they think that we will break down, retreat. But they do not know our history and our people well.

Yes, many countries in the world have long resigned themselves to living with their backs bent and obsequiously accepting all the decisions of their sovereign, looking obsequiously into his eyes. This is how many countries live. Unfortunately, also in Europe.

But Russia will never be in such a miserable and humiliated state, and the struggle we are waging is a struggle for our sovereignty, for the future of our country and our children. We will fight for the right to be and remain Russia. An example for us is the courage and steadfastness of our soldiers and officers, the faithful defenders of the Fatherland.