Super interesting. Dunno how he fits into the Russian political economy situation (clearly important, likely influential. Don’t know the camps/forces/trends or how he’s situated among them)
Some excerpts
Another important result of the US sanctions was the fall in the dollar's share in international payments. For Russia, as for other countries that have been subject to US sanctions, the dollar has become a toxic currency. By tracking all dollar transactions, punitive authorities in the United States can block payments, freeze, or even confiscate assets at any time. For 8 years after the introduction of sanctions, the share of the dollar in international settlements decreased by 13.5 percentage points (from 60.2% in 2014 to 46.7% in 2020).
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It would be childish, however, to assume that "when we are beaten, we grow stronger." Although we have indeed strengthened national sovereignty in the economic sphere under the influence of US sanctions, but not to such an extent that we do not pay attention to them at all. The damage caused by sanctions, of course, exists and is significantly enhanced by the passive policy of the monetary authorities.
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At the same time, we need to protect ourselves as much as possible from the expected escalation of US-European sanctions. The most vulnerable place for our economy is its excessive offshorization. Up to half of the Russian industrial assets are owned by non-residents. There are more than a trillion dollars of capital exported from the country abroad, half of which is involved in the reproduction of the Russian economy.
longer semi-conclusion/prescription
It follows from the above that effective measures are needed to effectively deoffshorize the economy, as well as to bring the Bank of Russia's policy in line with its constitutional responsibilities. Measures to tighten currency regulation in order to stop the export of capital and expand targeted lending to enterprises in need of financing investments and working capital will also not be hindered. It is advisable to introduce taxation of currency speculation and transactions in dollars and euros on the domestic market. We need serious investments in R & D in order to accelerate the development of our own technological base in the areas affected by sanctions — first of all, the defense industry, energy, transport and communications. We need to complete the de-dollarization of our foreign exchange reserves, replacing the dollar, euro and pound with gold. In the current context of the expected explosive growth in the price of gold, its mass export abroad is akin to high treason and it is high time for the regulator to stop it. We need to introduce a digital ruble as soon as possible, which could be used for cross-border payment and settlement operations, bypassing the banking system that is subject to sanctions pressure. We should hurry up with the creation of our own exchange space and mechanisms for ruble pricing for the raw materials produced in our country in excess. Invite partners in Asia to introduce a global payment and settlement currency based on the index of national currencies and exchange-traded commodities. It is possible to unilaterally lift sanctions from Ukrainian enterprises, while at the same time easing the situation of the Russian population employed in them. It may be possible to once again launch the single Economic space initiative from Lisbon to Vladivostok, encouraging a healthy part of the European business and political elite. Try to create a broad international coalition to restore the norms of international law, including those of the WTO and the IMF, which Western sanctions officials are shamelessly violating with their sanctions and trade wars.