Russian Federation President Putin Addresses the Valdai Club: A Transition is Declared

A Transition is Declared

[Image: a frame from the Valdai club video feed uploaded to rutube.ru by the Valdai Discussion Club. Extracted by the author.]

Publication date: 2022-10-28

Update 2022-10-28: The Valdai Club video of the session has been identified. Its rutube.ru hosted video is linked in Sources. A link to the embed page at the Valdai Club’s site is added where this is mentioned in an initial quote. The Kremlin’s transcript of the President’s speech is complete. The Kremlin translators have been working hard. The full translation is 27 thousand words.

An 800 word blasphemous summary of Putin’s speech, and only the speech, has been added.

The first thoughtful analysis has been added, by The Duran.

Update 2022-10-20: Pepe Escobar’s commentary has been added to that of The Duran under the “Analysis and Commentary” section at the bottom of the article. The Kremlin transcript of the entire event is complete.

Praise for my readership: The highest clicked link is to the official transcript. I am blessed to have such a readership. Thank you.

Update 2022-11-01: Added the Pushback interview to Analysis and Commentary.

Update 2022-11-06: An article by Scott Ritter is added to Analysis and Commentary.

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A reading of this article is available.

Introduction

To quote the Valdai Club:

The 19th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “A Post-Hegemonic World: Justice and Security for Everyone” was held on October 24-27, 2022 in Moscow.

The meeting was attended by 111 experts, politicians, diplomats and economists from 41 countries, including Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States, Uzbekistan, and others.

On the final day, as has become practice, the event was addressed by Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. His speech lasted approximately 43 minutes. This was followed by an almost 3 hour discussion session with questions from the moderator followed by the audience of guests, both Russian and international.

The Russian President described his vision for a world in transition from a hegemonic to multipolar world, and the principles Russia and partners wish to see adopted.

This author believes this to be one of the most important political speeches in many decades.

International Print Media Responses

A collection of links to, and the first paragraph of, various media from international and Russian English language publishers are provided. The final entry is Putin's first paragraph of substance from his speech. Its link is to the official Kremlin transcript. [As of 2022-10-28 15:00 CET the transcription is complete for the the President’s speech.]

CNN: Russian President Vladimir Putin took some familiar swipes at the US and its allies during a speech on Thursday, accusing “Western elites” of playing a “dangerous, bloody and dirty game” and seeking to blame them for much of the world’s trouble, including his own invasion of Ukraine.

NYT: President Vladimir V. Putin declared on Thursday that Russia’s battle was with “Western elites,” not with the West itself, in a speech seemingly aimed more at winning over political conservatives abroad than his own citizens.

ABC/Reuters (Australia): President Vladimir Putin says the world faces its most dangerous decade since World War II, accusing what he cast as a declining West of engaging in nuclear blackmail against Russia.

BBC: The world faces "probably the most dangerous" decade since the end of World War Two, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.

Pravda: The world is in for the most unpredictable decade since the end of World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the plenary session of the Valdai Club. The video of his speech is available on the official website of the event. [Editor: direct link to the Valdai Club embedded video added]

RT: The world is entering a decade of tumult as the pursuit of a more just world order clashes with the arbitrary hegemony of the collective West, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, addressing the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

Putin: We have used the Valdai Club platform to discuss, more than once, the major and serious shifts that have already taken place and are taking place around the world, the risks posed by the degradation of global institutions, the erosion of collective security principles and the substitution of “rules” for international law. I was tempted to say “we are clear about who came up with these rules,” but, perhaps, that would not be an accurate statement. We have no idea whatsoever who made these rules up, what these rules are based on, or what is contained inside these rules.

The Session

Putin's body language was relaxed. He was calm and serious for his address. During the discussion session he displayed his awareness of sensitive topics and employed diplomatic language when appropriate. On many an occasion he was playful and humorous as topics allowed.

The Federation President, as usual, displayed a comprehensive knowledge of the Russian economy citing figure after figure quoting expected, current and projected inflation figures for Russia and the Russian projection for several European countries, not to mention percentage and multiplier trade changes between Russia and several countries.

He demonstrated his diplomatic awareness when he was asked by a Kurdish representative about their future in a new multipolar world. Putin repeated core principles from his speech and made no specific commitments. The "Kurdish issue" is transnational, involving Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. One of the principles he offered in his speech was of balancing interests. Any resolution of the Kurdish issue will require quite some of that.

Putin was asked two questions by a representative from Indonesia, the last of which was "Can I have a photo with you?". Vladimir displayed his charm by praising her beauty and answered the second question first 'Of course!". He then addressed the first question concerning next month's G20 meeting in Indonesia, thanking the nation for the invitation and assuring them that Russia would attend with an appropriately high level delegation. This, of course, means he cannot yet commit to attending, but you'll definitely get Foreign Minister Lavrov.

The Russian President played to his audience when addressing a question on Taiwan. He was perplexed as to why the USA would, when running a proxy war against Russia, create tensions with its largest trade partner, China. He could not understand what the "old woman" (USA House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi) had been doing in Taiwan.

Declaring that they had "abused the time of the President", the moderator begins to bring the session to a close. He states that only a few more questions will be taken. As he begins to attempt to finally close the session, he raises his hand a little and starts "So, Mr. President". Putin immediately jumps in and says:

Do not give orders here. I give orders here! I think this is called hegemony. Well, we haven't overcome it yet.

See sources below for all of the full references for the "Responses" section above, and the Valdai Club video.

If you like to read, the official Kremlin English full transcript of the event is complete.

If you like video and have 3.5 hours, do that. One of the rotating translators used by the Valdai Club translates Putin in his rather plum English voice. This raised a smile on my face. Beware that the translators are translating live. There are minor differences between their live translation and the official transcript.

Expect additions to sources (and update notices at the top) as I find better international commentary in English than the piffle I found in the western establishment media.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the professionalism of the Valdai Club. The video and sound production are excellent. The close correlation of the live translations to the official transcript (for the speech) shows how capable the translators were.

Committing Blasphemy

This is a simplistic summary of Putin's speech for those rushed for time. Please make time and read all of the speech when you have found that time.

I use the terms "Unwritten-Rules Based Order" and "Cancel Culture Uniformity". They are mine, not Putin's. Such is the challenge of reducing 5 500+ words to under 900. Much subtlety and many minor points are lost. I have attempted to convey the structure and key ideas. Unwritten-Rules Based Order should be clear. Think of Cancel Culture Uniformity as meaning that if you, target nation, do not conform you will be cancelled.

Putin begins by diagnosing the maladies of our time and the systems employed by the Hegemon, by which he means 'the west'. At a national level, 'the west' could be read as USA/NATO. At a higher level its the transnational elites and elite networks who actually control the nations in this 'block'.

He uses "cancel culture" as a theme and a descriptive term for both the repression of diversity and for enforcement of advantage. Two examples are given in the cultural space, the disinformation/propaganda repression of civil discourse used against the west's own societies' diversities of opinion and the rejection of some of the great works of Russian culture.

Putin shadows his conclusion by describing a fundamental flaw in "cancel culture uniformity". Only a few nations want this. Thus, the concept of democracy amongst nations undermines it.

Putin expresses his frustration that the Hegemon does not honor its agreements. This is yet another aspect of the "unwritten-rules bases based order" and can be seen as an extension of "cancel culture" at an international legal level. The Hegemon just “cancels” its compliance with international agreement at a whim.

Putin revisits the early 2000s in which Russia made overtures to join the west and was rejected. [This may have been a gift in disguise.] The Hegemonic group in its application of uniformity is actually seeking vassals. For those who will not comply, following economic and other coercive measures: "if nothing at all can be done, the aim is the same: to destroy them, to wipe them off the political map."

Putin then proposes multi-polarity as a solution to the inherent 'fundamental flaw' outlined above. In the end he sees it as not only preferable, but inevitable. To facilitate this, a new internation trade currency is required which cannot be controlled by one or a small group of nations. "This will require a lot of effort. Many countries will have to pool their efforts, but it is possible."

Putin examines the abuse of global technical monopolies, citing medicine and agriculture as examples. The global technical monopoly enters an economy and destroys that which is there to prevent competition and ensure further market domination. "This is not progress; it is enslavement and reducing economies to primitive levels."

He then compares the globalization element of "cancel culture" with integration. His thesis is that humanity is fundamentally diverse and no attempt to unify it by coercion or even by example can succeed. The solution is cooperation. Integration is another term for this, but is based on creating large geographic zones where integration is applied carefully for mutual benefit. By carefully he means that nations' cultures must be respected.

Putin then considers the changing nature of the world and proposes that the power structures in the United Nations need to be re-examined to elevate Asia, Africa and Latin America.

I refuse to summarize his conclusion. You've got this far:

Colleagues,

The collapse of the Soviet Union upset the equilibrium of the geopolitical forces. The West felt as a winner and declared a unipolar world arrangement, in which only its will, culture and interests had the right to exist.

Now this historical period of boundless Western domination in world affairs is coming to an end. The unipolar world is being relegated into the past. We are at a historical crossroads. We are in for probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time most important decade since the end of World War II. The West is unable to rule humanity single-handedly and the majority of nations no longer want to put up with this. This is the main contradiction of the new era. To cite a classic, this is a revolutionary situation to some extent – the elites cannot and the people do not want to live like that any longer.

This state of affairs is fraught with global conflicts or a whole chain of conflicts, which poses a threat to humanity, including the West itself. Today’s main historical task is to resolve this contradiction in a way that is constructive and positive.

The change of eras is a painful albeit natural and inevitable process. A future world arrangement is taking shape before our eyes. In this world arrangement, we must listen to everyone, consider every opinion, every nation, society, culture and every system of world outlooks, ideas and religious concepts, without imposing a single truth on anyone. Only on this foundation, understanding our responsibility for the destinies of nations and our planet, shall we create a symphony of human civilisation.

At this point, I would like to finish my remarks with expressing gratitude for the patience that you displayed while listening to them.

Thank you very much.

Sources

Valdai International Discussion Club meeting, Kremlin, 2022-10-27

Putin accuses Western elites of playing ‘dangerous, bloody and dirty game’, Uliana Pavlova, Sugam Pokharel and Amy Cassidy, CNN, 2022-10-27

Playing to Western Discord, Putin Says Russia Is Battling ‘Strange’ Elites, Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 2022-10-27

Vladimir Putin says 'West's undivided dominance' will end in the most dangerous decade since WWII, (Reuters), ABC (Australia), , 2022-10-28

World faces most dangerous decade since WW2 - Putin, Yaroslav Lukov, BBC, 2022-10-28

Putin: The world is changing, and most difficult decade since WWII is coming, Pravda (English), 2022-10-27

‘No one can sit out the coming storm’: Putin’s milestone Valdai speech, RT, 2022-10-27

Video

The best single source video is uploaded to rutube.ru by the Valdai Discussion Club.

Technical note: yt-dlp can download this url, just use it normally:

yt-dlp https://rutube.ru/video/ae8123d81f3f794b69511c6377f7386b/

Sadly rutube.ru does not support downloading I did not know how to ask yt-dlp to show me smaller video sizes. Use:

yt-dlp -f - <url>

yt-dlp will list the “codes” and the dimensions (pixel size) and the total download size. Enter the code for the size you want.

Initial Video Sources

Putin's Speech: "The World After Hegemony: Justice and Security for All" LIVE, iEarlGrey, a re-broadcast on Youtube of RT's live coverage, 2022-10-27

Note: there are buffering delays occasionally in this rebroadcast. Its not you, its embedded in the recording.

Jump to 01:16:33 to skip RT's hourly news and go straight to the speech.

IMPORTANT: The RT audio includes both the translator and a slightly lower volume of Putin speaking in Russian. If you wish to only hear the English translation and thus find it easier to focus on the content, the STOP at 01:52:25 when you hear Putin speaking of technology policy. Then, jump to the start of the next video below. There are no banners and only the translator, a far superior experience.

The Guardian missed over half an hour of the speech (hence the video above), but they did grab a better quality feed.

Russian president Vladimir Putin takes part in Valdai discussion club meeting – watch live, The Guardian, 2022-10-27

Analysis and Commentary

Putin: 'The Situation Is, to a Certain Extent, Revolutionary', Pepe Escobar, The Unz Review, 2022-10-29

Putin’s Valdai Discussion Club Speech, no author, Russia Briefing, 2022-10-28

Putin Skewers US Ineptitude, Ray McGovern, Antiwar, 2022-11-01

SCOTT RITTER: A ‘Dangerous, Bloody & Dirty Game’, Scott Ritter, Consortium News, 2020-11-03

Putin's Valdai Speech, warns Western elites, Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou, The Duran, 2022-10-28

Ukraine war escalates as diplomacy disappears, Aaron Maté interviews Richard Sakwa, Pushback/The Grayzone, 2022-11-01

Culture

I’m in a playful mood. Please excuse me, I couldn’t resist. The recording is a bit loud, lower your volume.

Meredith Brooks - BITCH, Meredith Brooks, mightymind84, uploaded 2014-02-04

A wonderful song with also a beautifully duplicitous lyric: “I’m a goddess on my knees”.

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