Important Addendum to Putin's Address to the Duma

When I reported on Putin’s words to the Duma, I made an error and omitted what in print seemed mild/meek, but when seen on the video was anything but that. Go to minute 39 and start viewing. Here’s the text of what he said:

Let me say just two words to conclude our ceremony and today’s meeting.

We are all involved, deeply involved, immersed in the fabric of what is happening, each in our own way, but we also understand what is happening in the country and in the world as a whole, and we understand the situation that Russia is in, the historical stage that it is going through, and that it is going through it with dignity.

Of course, this is not the time or place for a discussion, but I will say a few things. Of course, over the past 3-4 years, we have outperformed other developed economies in terms of economic growth, and Russia continues to hold the fourth place in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (after China, the United States, and India, and the first place in Europe), and we are also ahead of the European Union in terms of economic growth. However, we would like to see more progress. There are risks associated with rising inflation and its consequences. There are big advantages to today’s policy. What is the main advantage? It is the stability of the Russian economic and financial system. This is the most important aspect, as it allows us to address issues related to the development of industry, defense sectors, and social issues.

Of course, I’ll reveal a secret, and my colleague won’t be offended. During the awards ceremony, one of the awardees whispered to me: “We will win. But we need to be bolder.” I really want to. [Putin replied] However, the question arises: “Should we be even bolder?” Just like in the economy, there are risks involved, and the price is our losses on the battlefield. Therefore, we will proceed with caution but persistently and consistently in achieving our country’s goals. And we will achieve them.

And finally, here’s the bottom line. This is a challenging and crucial historical period for Russia. This is evident, and it is understood not only by members of the State Duma, the Russian Government, the Administration, and regional leaders. It is understood by every ordinary citizen of the Russian Federation. [My Emphasis]

The bolded paragraph corresponds to the animation Putin displays as he informs the audience, and none of that’s prewritten. For more on this, Dan Davis has an excellent 32-minute podcast about this very event and what it signals where he also shows the same video clip with English overdubbing. IMO, this is very important and I’m really angry with myself that I missed it the first time by not watching the entire video. Dan Davis caught it and discussed it, but only 33,000 have viewed it so far which is too few given the podcast’s importance.

IMO, it’s very important to view Putin’s body language when saying the bolded paragraph, for that’s a very, very rare display, then add the context and audience, and you have a seminal political moment. What will it generate? I noted Putin signed an order to increase the military by 25,000 which is far from the 500,000 Zelensky has touted and Ritter’s 300,000. Is another order to come? And Putin didn’t just say those words to deflect criticism of the SMO’s pace as that’s not the way he works. Note too the reaction by the Duma members. Dan Davis integrates a few things Putin said to Naval personnel prior to his address to the Duma members, specifically this paragraph, and how Ukraine might later be divided:

By the way, I am sure that sooner or later Ukraine will lose these western lands. And what belonged to Poland, what belonged to Hungary, what belonged to Romania, sooner or later, not tomorrow, maybe not the day after tomorrow, a year, two, 10, 15, but everything will fall into place historically. There was only one guarantor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and that was Russia. [My Emphasis}

If Putin orders a mobilization of the reserves, they can go into action rather quickly, which translates to within one month or even sooner. They won’t be used to further batter the remaining fortified cities within Donetsk, so the speculation turns to Kherson and Odessa or the Northern Sumy/Kharkov regions that are lightly fortified.

Putin noted the risk of increased casualties. Russian civilian casualties caused by NATO Terrorism can best be forgotten by increasing offensive action that the general public’s been clamoring for. Davis also noted some other considerations.

I’ll close by adding this not I made at MoA earlier:

I suggest taking 90-minutes to watch, read, and reflect on the wisdom supplied by Colonel Wilkerson and Alastair Crooke. Wilkerson details the “trap” Trump has ensnared himself while Crooke suggests the trap ends thusly:

So the imperial hubris of Trump is beginning to face the fact that he will find it hard – possibly impossible – to find a solution to the Middle East, because to see the world from the purely Apollonian perspective is essentially male and exclusivist and fails to understand ‘otherness’; but rather relies on exceptional privilege. It simply does not – and cannot – recognise a plurality of minds.

The U.S. has lost the war. By adopting such uncompromising Manichaean language, Trump effectively has severed himself from any prospective diplomatic solution. By widening the war (Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq) he has severely complicated any diplomatic track. All elements are interrelated, yet they also have separate agendas. Thus a solution involves a complex matrix of issues, rather than a binary dispute between the U.S. and Iran alone. The U.S. ultimately will have to capitulate, with the result that Iran becomes a regional power (strengthening Russia and China), whilst the Region slowly will come to terms with this new West Asian reality.

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