Putin's March 16th Hateful Sermon

Summary Brief:??Putin's remarks March 16th, 2022?

Putin Says Russia Must Undergo a 'Self-Cleansing of Society' to Purge 'Bastards and Traitors'

Putin says Russia will achieve goals in Ukraine, won't bow to West

The “Special Operation” is going according to plan.

Sanctions damage the West as well as Russia; Russian companies and individuals have to invest at home.

The aim is to destroy Russia, but Russia will cope.

Threatens the fifth column and traitors.?

Claims sanctions will strengthen Russian economic sovereignty.

Putin said the "special operation" was going according to plan, that the Ukrainian authorities had been planning to resolve the Donbas issue by force…He brought up the attack on Donetsk on 14 March, something he called a "terrorist act," which the Western press did not note…The brutal treatment of the people in the Donbas could no longer be tolerated…Russia recognized the DNR and the LNR to end the genocide, the ethnic cleansing that was being planned…Recognizing the Donbas republics, however, would not end the fighting there or end the threat to Russia--NATO infrastructure would simply expand more rapidly on Ukrainian territory. With foreign help, Ukraine could acquire weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear and bioweapons. We have reason to assume that elements of bioweapons being developed close to Russia's borders. Putin added that offensive weapons systems were already close to Russian borders. All diplomatic means had been exhausted. Russia had no other choice than to undertake the "special operation" in order to defend itself.?

The fundamental issues for Russia are neutral status for Ukraine, and the de-militarization and de-Nazification of that country. We are prepared to discuss those issues in negotiations. But we are convinced that the Western bosses of the Kiev regime have set themselves the task of creating an aggressive anti-Russia there, a regime that is indifferent to the fate of the Ukrainian people. That neo-Nazis and armed criminals released from prison are fighting there, that a real humanitarian catastrophe is taking place, is a matter of indifference to Ukraine's overseers. Kiev's Western bosses are pushing vlast to continue the bloodshed. They are equipping the Ukrainians, sharing intelligence with them, and sending military advisors and mercenaries.?

Another weapon being used against Russia is economic--sanctions that also damage the West through rising prices for fuel and food and unemployment in sectors that do business in Russia. Putin said that he wanted?ordinary Western people to hear him. You are being told that your current difficulties are the result of Russia’s hostile actions and that you have to pay from your own pockets for the efforts to counter the alleged Russian threat. All of that is a lie. What's happening now are the results of many years of actions by the ruling elite in the West, of their mistakes, and the Western elites are not thinking about improving the lives of their own people. The West is suffering from social and economic problems--the myth of Western prosperity, of the "golden billion" is being destroyed. What is happening is the result of the West's ambitions, its efforts to maintain its dominance.?

Sanctions are the logical continuation of the irresponsible actions of the West, of its governments and central banks, and inflation is rising. A serious blow has been delivered to the global economy and to the US dollar as the global reserve currency. The West is illegitimately blocking Russian currency reserves, and the US and EU have announced they are defaulting on obligations to Russia. Now everyone knows that financial reserves can be effectively stolen. And that means a number of countries could convert their paper and digital savings into reserves in the form of raw materials, land, food, gold, and other assets that will only increase deficits on those markets.?

The arrests of overseas assets and accounts of Russians and Russian companies is a lesson for them--they have to invest in their own country. We value the position of foreign companies that have continued to work in Russia. They will have additional opportunities for development. We also know about those who cravenly ditched their partners and forgot about their responsibilities to their employees and clients in Russia. We, however, in contrast to the West, will respect their property rights.??

The West would have imposed new sanctions on us in any case--the special operation in Ukraine was just a pretext for imposing them now. Weakening and containing Russia is a long-term strategy. Western leaders don’t hide that. All the talk about private property and freedom of speech evaporated quickly.?

People with Russian roots living in the West are being denied medical aid, their children are being expelled from schools, and Russian music, culture, and literature is being banned. The mask is off, and the West is showing its true nature. We are seeing something analogous to anti-Semitic pogroms in Germany in the 1930s.

Russia is the target of massive cyberattacks, and of an information campaign in all forms of media round the world. Their objectivity and independence a myth. There is an enormous amount of fakes and anti-Russian propaganda circulating, and access to information is being limited. But Russia will convey its position to the world. Behind the hypocrisy of the collective West are hostile geo-political aims. People will hear it and understand.?

The collective West does not want a strong and sovereign Russia--best of all for them would be dismembering the Russian state. They will count on the so-called fifth column, on national traitors, on those who make money here, but live there, maybe not geographically, but in their minds, in their servile consciousness. The problem isn't that people have a house in Miami or on the French Riviera, but in that they are mentally there and not here with their own people. For them, it is a sign of their belonging to a higher caste, a superior race. Such people are ready to sell their own mother in order to belong to the higher caste. They forget that the higher caste is using them to deliver maximum damage to our own people.?

The collective West is trying to divide our society, speculating on military losses, on the social-economic consequences of sanctions, to provoke civic confrontation in Russia, and using their fifth column to achieve their aim of destroying Russia.?

But the Russian people can distinguish true patriots form scum and traitors and spit them out, a necessary cleansing that can only strengthen our country. The collective West and its fifth column assume that everything is for sale, that anything can be bought. But they do not know our history and our people very well. Some, as in Europe, simply accept the decisions of their sovereign, but Russia will never adopt such a shameful, humiliating position. The struggle we are conducting is for our own sovereignty, our future and our children. We will fight for the right to be and remain Russia. What's happening now will bring the dominance of the West in politics and economics to an end. What's more, they have raised doubts about the economic model they have been imposing on the whole world. Sanctions will not divide countries in which more than half of the world's population resides.?

Yes, the situation is difficult right now. Russian companies both large and small are under increasing pressure. The banking system first fell under sanctions, but Russian bankers are handling the situation. The second wave of sanctions was meant to cause panic in the trade sphere--Russian producers and transport and logistic companies have done all they can to avoid large scale deficits in retail chains.?

An economic blitzkrieg organized against Russia and aimed at demoralizing our society isn't coming off. So, we will surely see new efforts to pressure our country. We will overcome those difficulties. The Russian economy must adapt to the new reality. Our technological and scientific sovereignty will be strengthened. The agriculture sector will receive additional resources, as will processing industries, infrastructure, and housing construction. Structural changes to our economy are necessary. They will be difficult and will lead to unemployment and inflation. Our task is to minimize the risks, to use more effective mechanisms of supporting our citizens and their incomes.?

Putin directed the government to increase support for families and the unemployed, to increase pensions, "budget worker" salaries, and the minimum wage. Despite the current situation, Putin wants the government to decrease poverty levels. A lot depends, he said, on the regional heads, and on their readiness to take on responsibility…