Business (or in Latvian “people with experience of entrepreneurial activity”) is interested in political decisions only to the extent that they expand or restrict the ability to make a profit. No wonder Vladimir Putin at the St. Petersburg international economic forum called invited there representatives of American business circles “to help the newly elected President” Donald Trump to improve relations with Russia. And some help. Last year the host of the forum, Putin said: “the European business wants and is willing to cooperate with our country. European policy should strive to meet the business, with wisdom, foresight and flexibility”.
Examples of this elasticity is sufficient. French supermarket chain Auchan as well as the German Metro, continues to trade in the Crimea, using the intermediation of subsidiaries and avoiding all penalties with dubious from a legal point of view, justification. Germany supports a project of the Kremlin “Nord stream-2,” in which participates as a shareholder of the company “Gazprom”, and as investors come in five Western European companies. The representative of Nord Stream in the European Union Sebastian Sass to a variety of audiences, speaks about the environmental and geopolitical safety of the project, trying to create the impression that he believes what he says. But it avoids mention of hybrid warfare, in which the valve of the gas supply can be a strong weapon. In the end, it’s not his topic.
It is appropriate to recall the company of the Latvian port city of Ventspils, who had hoped that their attract to support work in the framework of the project “Northern stream-2”, but this did not happen, they believe, because of the negative position of the government of Latvia, and therefore are now demanding from the government compensation for lost income in the amount of 8.3 million euros. Prime Minister Maris Kuchinskis commented that “not all the same, to whom and for what to sell.” From the public point of view, especially with respect to safety considerations is a correct statement. But there is also another approach and willingness to sell to anyone. In the world of big deals eight million are not some kind of excessive amount. If we were talking about, say, complacently billion allocated to Russia, the willingness to sell would have reached the highest degree. In this case, we may want not only the usual economic arguments (jobs, investments and the like), public revelations also often appeared to political promises, such as the NATO “occupation”, which is pulled out from the depths of the soul occasionally.
The difference of the economic elite of Latvia — a very specific and very influential part, from the present in the Russian market of Western businessmen who were asked at a forum in Petersburg, Putin, that their state, despite cyberattacks and information warfare, is still not subject to military threat. But marked other differences. For example, according to published records of conversations at the hotel Rīdzene, representatives of this part of the economic elite of Latvia speak Russian profanity and use it that has a sufficient connection with the worldview as a whole — it will confirm any psychologist. According to this worldview, naturally in a narrow circle to negotiate the desired election of the President or removal from office of the attorney General, using the full impotence of the judiciary. In a state with strong democratic values such texts would have caused an unprecedented scandal. In Germany, not to mention the Scandinavian countries, local (the Minister of agriculture of Latvia), Dallas would instantly resign, and the local (the head of fraction of party “Consent” in the Sejm) and Urbanowicz (mayor of Ventspils) Lembergs never would have appeared on the political horizon. In Latvia will appear. Attach to jacket lapels red, white, and red ribbon and before the next elections to the Sejm will agitate to vote for themselves. We have a fairly large number of them choose. And the next poll will show the discontent of citizens. By the same well-deserved.
