Rouble Nationalization – the Way to Russia’s Freedom. Nikolay Starikov
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Название: Rouble Nationalization – the Way to Russia’s Freedom

Автор: Nikolay Starikov

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Жанр: История

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isbn: 978-5-459-01703-8

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СКАЧАТЬ eedom

      The author's preface. What is State sovereignty?

      A single scoundrel is enough to ruin the nation.

Napoleon Bonaparte

      One great personality is enough to save the country.

Voltaire

      Many extraordinary events have taken place lately in different parts of the world. The Arab Spring, the collapse of multiculturalism in Europe, youth riots in major European countries and the 'Occupy Wall Street' movement are just a few examples to mention. The world is changing rapidly. What is more, these changes are clearly not for the better. All those things that were clear, secure and solid yesterday are now becoming unstable. The international financial system is falling apart at the seams, and that can be seen with the naked eye. Just ten years ago those who would speak of the dollar crash or of the Euro-zone decay, would perhaps have been regarded as insane and would have been recommended to see a doctor. Now these matters are discussed night and day on all TV-channels. This news is on the front pages of newspapers.

      Let us look at ordinary people. What should they think of these events? Should they applaud the victory of the opposition in the Arabic countries and the establishment of democracy there? Or rather worry about the defeat of government forces and growing instability? Should they sympathise with the youth riots in the developed countries or rather regard these young people as just having too much of a good thing? Or, maybe, they had better simply forget about all that and go to see a football game? But even there they will come across football fans, nationalists, tolerance issues and many other unpleasant things? And finally – consider the conspiracy theories about the end of the world and the aliens. So, what should they do? Let us look at it more closely.

      And we should start with state sovereignty. Without this concept we will never grasp the essence of what is happening…

      There are currently over two hundred states on Earth. These states are very different, just like human beings are. There are large and small ones, rich and poor ones, famous ones and completely unknown to the majority of the world's population. Among these nations there are those with advanced economies and those with decaying ones, those growing and those wasting away. Some die out, some grow older, and others are propagating vigorously and growing younger year by year. So, what is this factor that determines whether a nation is developing or stagnating?

      Let us compare it with the factors, influencing the life of a human. Those are plenty: parents and upbringing, attitude of a person towards the things they are busy with, their love of learning. Health is important and even one's birthplace has certain significance. One cannot ignore friends, bad habits, luck. Happy or unhappy marriage plays its role, too. All in all, it is a mosaic of accidents that determines the life of a human being. And so, people live, get older and work following the waves of destiny. They pursue their goals. Or – which also happens – they sink to the very bottom.

      But there is one sine qua non condition of the phenomenon called human happiness. It is not by chance, that I address happiness in this context, since it is happiness, which has to be the criterion of human existence; happiness, and not success, interpreted differently in different cultures. Human happiness presupposes autonomy. One has to make decisions by oneself; one has to carry responsibility for the consequences of those decisions. In the same way the 'happy life of the state requires this state to be autonomous. This self-determination of the state is called State Sovereignty.

      State sovereignty means supremacy of the state within its borders as well as its autonomy in the international affairs.[1] State sovereignty is incompatible with any interference from the outside. A sovereign state is the one to decide for itself and to reap the fruits of these decisions. The country itself has to determine its path of development; the head of the country has to do things that are good for the country and that make the country prosperous. The power is sovereign only if this criterion is chosen as the basic one for defining of state policy – exactly as an adult is independent only if they are free to decide themselves about their family. It may happen that the benefits of certain decisions will not be immediate, and will not always be obvious; yet the criterion 'make it better' will always guide a normal person in actions concerning their family.

      Is this not the case of modern states as well? Is this not the case that the statesmen of different countries are striving hammer and tongs for the sake of their countries? Is this not the case that while looking at the political map one sees a lot of independent countries that bravely move across the rough sea of politics and economics?

      Alas, it is not; the reality is completely different. It is exactly the opposite. Nearly all countries of the modern world are forced to conduct policies that are very far from their national interests. The examples are not hard to find, you will find them in today's newspapers. What do Poland, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria need the deployment of the American antiballistic missile elements on their territories for? Do they need it to defend themselves from the missiles? I would like to highlight two points in this context. Firstly, these countries are NATO members, and this alliance, where the USA and Britain rule the roost, has, in compliance with its regulations, to protect them from any military attacks. Secondly, it is not very clear whose missiles these countries are going to defend themselves from. Some say that this refers to Iranian missiles. Yet for some obscure reason the ABM is being deployed closer to the Russian borders than to the Iranian ones. Whereby would it not be more logical to deploy the system in the proximity of the hazard and not in another part of the planet. Furthermore, the Iran of today simply does not have missiles which would be capable of reaching Poland or the Czech Republic, and it is not clear when Iran will get such missiles. Maybe the ABM is being deployed in Europe 'just in case'? In case Iranians invent, assemble and launch a missile of the newest generation?! Well, let us suppose, they have indeed invented one. And even have assembled a couple of dozens. The questions remain the same – why should Iran immediately attack somebody? Why should Iran aim at Poland – or the Czech Republic? What harm did these or other Europeans – such as Romanians or Bulgarians inflict on Iranians? The questions hang in the air, and the things, mentioned in this context by American politicians resemble a smokescreen.

      As for today, the probability of Iranian missiles attacking the West is the same as that of aliens landing in California.

      The benefit to Eastern-European countries from these actions is questionable, to say the least. Their security will not develop whereas they will inherit a lot of problems. As a matter of fact, the positions of the American missiles will be immediately exposed to attacks of Russian nuclear warhead missiles. On the other hand, it will be impossible to track what kind of rockets Americans shelter in the launching silos. Who can guarantee that these missiles are just an air defence weapon? What if they are equipped with nuclear warheads, too? Indeed, the proximity of the missiles to our borders drastically reduces their flying time to Russian towns and strategic objects. It was exactly the argument that made American diplomats so eloquent during the Caribbean crisis – yes, it would have taken just a few minutes for a missile to attack the USA from Cuba. So, today's Russia cannot help reacting either. As a result, people living in Poland and the Czech Republic who gained nothing from deployment of the American ABM in terms of security, now risk coming under the crossfire of Russian nuclear missiles. So what is that big reward for these countries, can anybody explain to me? Well, the leaders of these countries will be tapped on the shoulder during the next summit meeting and will be titled 'democrats' by human rights activists. It does not sound like a very generous reimbursement for the constant fear of being attacked by nuclear missiles, does it? Would you settle for putting a barrel of petrol in your own apartment to get a discount for your rent and a tablet on your door with the inscription An excellent household apartment'? No? Then that is not the point.

      The questions arise one by one. Are the leaders of these countries, who jeopardise their citizens without gaining anything worthy instead really freestanding? Are they really freestanding, those СКАЧАТЬ



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