Most Westerners imagine Russian President Vladimir Putin sitting in his office in the Kremlin, wringing his hands and gritting his teeth, pondering Russia’s imminent conquest of all of Europe. At least, this is the narrative spun by the liberal elite. Reality, as is so often the case, is divergently opposed to the Washington public relations campaign. Let’s briefly look at what the living legend Putin is up to. I am sure many will be surprised.
Connecting the Pan Asia
If you keep up with news regarding the developments in the new multipolar world, a travel story via Travel News Asia may be of interest. According to the news, Russia’s Aeroflot has unveiled plans to launch direct flights between Khabarovsk and Phuket, Thailand. What is significant about this, other than the fact President Putin is in Khabarovsk as I type this report, is the destination from Russia’s second-biggest city in the Far East. Once staunchly supportive of American hegemony, Thailand is currently gravitating to China, Russia, and probably the BRICS orbit. I mention this as part of a more significant trend.
Aeroflot also announced the resumption of flights to Thailand out of Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Vladivostok, but Khabarovsk is more interesting for several reasons. First and foremost among these is the city’s being a gateway to North Korea and China’s Far East. Those who follow Mr. Putin’s meetups will recall North Korea’s Kim Jong-un visiting facilities in Khabarovsk last Summer, including a fighter jet factory. Kim was also given a detailed tour of the plant where 5th generation Su-57 fighter jets are built at Komsomolsk-on-Amur, just up the river from Khabarovsk. Of course, the Western media went bananas at the prospect of a renewed Russia/North Korea military cooperation. Justifiably so.
When the Russian company Aero-HIT, which specialises in the production of small quadcopter-type drones, announced a significant increase in its monthly production at its facility in Khabarovsk, I was immediately reminded of Soviet weapons developments far behind the front lines in WW2. The manufacturing monster aimed at Hitler’s waning Nazi forces proved to be a death spike. I expect we can expect the same on the Ukraine front soon. Advanced jets, hypersonic missiles, unique naval developments, and infrastructure expansion that can only mean closer interdependence with its Far-East neighbours must disturb America and her Pan-Asian allies.
Mr. Putin has ramped up scheduling for massive development of Russia’s Far East regions. As for the significance of Khabarovsk, the city is not only a border town and meetup spot for friendly dignitaries but a rapidly developing and progressive centre. While in the area, Putin also visited the Makatrovs’ Farm, a year-round greenhouse complex in Chukotka. This project is a multi-storey greenhouse complex to allow for growing vegetables in permafrost conditions. It is one of many new, innovative, and potentially impactful developments in this region of Russia.
A New Tourism and Industry Mecca
Few outsiders know much about the Khabarovsk Territory, which has become a technology industrial hub in the last decade and is blessed with over 210,000 rivers and over 58,000 lakes, six nature preserves, and almost thirty wildlife refuges in the region. From the cultural perspective, there are 720 federal and municipal institutions of culture and art, including theatres, museums, a Philharmonic with a concert hall, a circus, cinemas and libraries. Interestingly, the tourism sector of the region is nowhere near fully developed. The potential for this unique Russian territory is tremendous. I would make the point here that the United States, the EU, Japan, and even Australia have no such territorial developmental potential.
The so-called “West” is simply tapped out, and Mr. Putin is hard at work bringing Russia to the forefront in many sectors. This is why President Putin’s stopping off at Khabarovsk during a visit to the Far Eastern Federal District to attend to long-term plans for the development of the district is significant now. Putin met with Governor Mikhail Degtyarev, who is also an aerospace engineer. The meetup above with North Korea’s leader further emphasises the strategic and economic importance of the shift eastward.
While researching for this report, I could not help but notice that Uzbekistan Airways will also launch direct flights to Khabarovsk. News that Pacific Railway is bolstering Khabarovsk’s Marine Terminal Development is also pertinent. Khabarovsk’s shipyards are the biggest in Russia’s Far East. There are also plans to develop “smart cities” in the region due to its proximity to China’s, South Korea’s, and Japan’s innovation centres. Further, news of the restart of production of the Soviet landing craft air cushion [LCAC] Murena at Khabarovsk shipyard will further strengthen the capability of Russia’s military to transport personnel and supplies to remote and unprepared coastlines. News Aurora Airlines is to take Khabarovsk Airlines under its wing, which tells us further route networks are underway. Aurora made similar agreements with Yakutia, Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, and Chukotka’s regional operator, Chukotavia.
And in the USA?
I mention all these civic, technological, and military developments to show, at least in part, how Russia is moving forward fast to expand all the potential for the Russian people. Meanwhile, in my country, corporate-owned puppets travel only to a court or shake hands with ghosts at presidential election rallies. At the exact moment American inner cities are crumbling to the ground, Putin and his people are fighting a NATO-instigated proxy war on the Western front, battling sanctions that have crippled EU businesses instead of Russian ones, and flying to Russia’s Far East to erect smart cities and spaceports. On a final positive note, Mr. Putin’s administration has funded and supported building more than half a million square meters of housing in the Khabarovsk Territory in 2023. The figure is a record for the region over the past three decades.
From a pulpit near historic Valley Forge, President Joe Biden just commemorated January 6th, calling it “a day of American infamy,” marking the third anniversary of the 2021 events at the US Capitol. While Putin orchestrates taking Russia forward, the current US president just called Americans to join him in defending US democracy from former President Donald Trump. He also compared Trump to Adolph Hitler. Perhaps he was upset to learn that the Pentagon did not tell him about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalisation for three days. The dizzy American chief executive will also dispatch an unofficial delegation to Taiwan following its elections.
On the international scene, banners that read: “Biden: The World Says Ceasefire” and “Biden: Stop Vetoing Peace” were unfurled at UN headquarters. And our president is more concerned with billions and more weapons for Ukraine and Israel than for his own homeless, sick, or desperately poor fellow citizens. The United States just recorded the highest number of homeless people in its history. So, there’s your contrast. There’s your actual reality.
I look forward to your comments.
A version of this report appeared first at NEO
