In an address delivered last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin covered a range of momentous issues, including the perceived decline of “liberal globalization,” the rise in the West of “cancel culture,” the importance of respecting “traditional values,” and the coming emergence of what he described as a “multipolar world order.”
Putin delivered his annual address at the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank with close ties to the Kremlin.
“This was the first Valdai forum to be held since Russia launched its special military operation in February,” Stanislav Pritchin, a senior research fellow at Russia’s Institute of World Economy and International Relations, told The Epoch Times.
“Putin typically uses the Valdai forum to present issues he considers to be of strategic importance—especially to Western audiences.”
‘Historical Crossroads’
In his address, Putin said the world faced a “historical crossroads” in which the Western-led “unipolar world” was being “relegated to the past,” according to the Kremlin’s official transcript of the event.“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 Russian leader said.
The age of “boundless Western domination in world affairs” is “coming to an end,” he said.
The collective West is “unable to rule humanity single-handedly,” according to Putin, who went on to assert that a new “world arrangement” was “taking shape before our eyes.”
According to Pritchin, Putin has repeatedly mentioned this theme over the course of the past year.
“This wasn’t the first time for him to warn that the world was facing a crossroads,” Pritchin said. “Putin made the same point last December in a message to the United States and NATO, in which he reiterated Russia’s concerns about its security and the situation in Europe.”
“But that message was largely ignored by Western political circles.”
“It also shows that he hopes for support from certain members of the international community,” Bozkus told The Epoch Times.
‘Liberal Globalization’
Putin also censured what he described as “liberal globalization,” which he said sought to impose “the Western model on the entire world.”“The world is diverse by nature, and Western attempts to squeeze everyone into the same pattern are clearly doomed,” he said.
“If Western elites believe they can have their people ... embrace what I believe are strange and trendy ideas like dozens of genders or gay pride parades, so be it. But they certainly have no right to tell others to follow in their steps.”
Pointing to the rise in the West of “cancel culture,” Putin said: “Liberal ideology itself has changed beyond recognition.
“Initially, classic liberalism was understood to mean the freedom of every person to do and say as they pleased.
“[But] liberals started saying that the so-called open society had enemies and that the freedom of these enemies could and should be restricted if not canceled.
“It has reached the absurd point where any alternative opinion is declared subversive propaganda and a threat to democracy.”
According to Pritchin, the financial component of globalization has allowed transnational companies to further their interests while promoting Western-style consumerism to the rest of the world.
“This has been done through institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and by maintaining the dollar as the key element of the global financial system,” he said.
“According to Putin, the West uses these institutions as political tools to advance its own interests. Not to raise living standards in the rest of the world.”
‘Genuine, Traditional West’
However, Putin drew a distinction between what he described as “traditional” values and the “neoliberal” values espoused by Western elites.Traditional values, he said, “are unique in each particular instance because they stem from the traditions of a particular society, its culture, and its historical background.”
Countries’ traditional values and customs “must be respected, and everything that every nation has been choosing for itself over the centuries must be handled with care.”
The Russian leader went on to posit the notion that there were two distinct “Wests” that espoused diametrically opposed ideologies.
One he described as “the West of traditional, primarily Christian values,” such as freedom and patriotism. This West “is close to us in something. We share with it common, even ancient, roots,” Putin said.
“But there is also a different West—aggressive, cosmopolitan, and neocolonial,” he said, saying that this West serves “as a tool of neoliberal elites.”
“Naturally, Russia will never reconcile itself to the dictates of this West.”
But he went on to voice hope that “pragmatism will triumph” and that Russia would eventually have the chance to hold dialogue with what he described as the “genuine, traditional West.”
According to Pritchin, Putin’s remarks were in line with earlier statements in which he stressed the importance of Russian culture and tradition.
“From the point of view of the Russian government, the LGBT movement, for example, does not reflect traditional Russian values,” Pritchin said. “Russia has nothing against those who are part of such movements, but Russian law is primarily aimed at protecting the interests of those who embrace traditional Russian values. This includes children, of course, who should be raised by both a father and mother.
“This is the main message of Russia, and this is the main line of ideological conflict between Russia and the West.”
Eurasian Dawn
Putin also hailed what he described as a “new era” in the development of Eurasia, describing the region as “a self-sufficient complex possessing huge resources of all kinds and tremendous opportunities.”“The more we work on increasing the connectivity of Eurasia and creating new ways and forms of cooperation, the more impressive achievements we make,” he said.
Examples of these achievements included the Eurasian Economic Union, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the planned International North–South Transport Corridor project, according to Putin.
The Russian leader also noted the mounting influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a formidable bloc of Eurasian states in which Russia plays a leading role.
Established by Moscow and Beijing in 2001, the SCO was originally founded to offset increasing Western influence in the region.
Along with Russia and China, the SCO’s current membership includes India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Iran. Together, these states account for 40 percent of the world’s population and roughly a third of global gross domestic product.
“There’s little doubt that the center of economic power is shifting toward Eurasia—to China, India, and Turkey, all of which are fast becoming global players,” Pritchin said.
“The West would be well advised to take these countries’ economic, political, and security concerns into account. The sooner they do so, the sooner we’ll have the basis for an inclusive, transparent, and stable international system.”
According to Bozkus, recent attempts by the United States and European Union to co-opt certain countries on Russia’s periphery—such as Georgia and Ukraine—have “served to irk Moscow.”
“Putin used his Valdai address to make it clear to the West that he will not countenance such maneuvering, especially in regions viewed as Russia’s backyard,” she said.
