[[ Natalia Kolesnikova/Getty
Putin also decreed that domestic companies no longer need to respect the intellectual property rights of so-called “unfriendly nations.” With a stroke of the pen, all manner of patented inventions—described such that anyone skilled in the art could easily replicate them—became fair game for Russian businesses to exploit without remuneration, helping domestic manufacturers leapfrog ahead in economic development.
And on it goes.
As testimony to the utter failure of the West’s efforts to punish Putin economically, consider the bizarre article that appeared in the Financial Times last week. Circularly titled “Russia’s new economy may end up prolonging its war,” the piece—written by someone currently employed by an economics think tank in Kyiv—is practically indistinguishable from parody:
“The Russian economy’s increasingly structural militarisation significantly complicates any efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Contrary to the expectations that economic constraints would hinder Russia’s capacity to sustain fighting, the spectre of economic collapse might push Vladimir Putin and his officials to double down on militarisation and seek further confrontation, even if aggression against Ukraine hits a standstill.
Russia’s economy grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to expand by over 3 per cent in 2024. Despite ongoing extensive sanctions and export controls, which are expected to hinder investment and potential growth in the long term, Russian authorities have praised themselves for their short-term success in avoiding a deep recession in 2022 and achieving subsequent strong growth.
Much of this success relies on the expansion of the military-industrial complex. The delayed and imperfect introduction of the oil price cap has enabled Russia to bolster fiscal revenues and use them to stimulate the domestic economy. While export controls impede Russia’s military production and make it more expensive, they have not yet resulted in decisive choke points or disruptions in supply chains.”
Good one ]]
