Suzdaltsev commented on Putin’s decree on frozen assets: “The principle of collective responsibility”

“We have the Western assets that we froze”

Political scientist Andrei Suzdaltsev believes that the West will not agree to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposals for the exchange of frozen assets of Russians. Putin today signed a decree “On additional temporary economic measures related to the circulation of foreign securities.” Earlier, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the assets of more than 3.5 million Russian citizens worth 1.5 trillion rubles are now blocked abroad.

Political scientist, deputy dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Andrey Suzdaltsev commented to MK on the president’s decision.

– A number of our citizens were subjected to unjustified confiscations of property abroad. – he said. – Based on the principle of ethnicity and collective responsibility. They are completely unfoundedly accused of involvement in some kind of aggression. I believe that this is completely illegal, this is a common robbery of the property of Russian citizens. According to the Constitution, the Russian state takes care not only of state property, valuables and assets, but also of the property of Russian companies and individuals. On the territory of the Russian Federation there are assets and property of countries that are pursuing a sanctions policy against us. They are now frozen. A proposal arose to exchange them for the assets and investments that our citizens have in Western countries. A decree has been signed that formalizes this.

– How will this actually happen?

– My personal opinion is that the West will not agree to this; it is guided by the principle of collective responsibility. That is, if you are Russian, then you are responsible for everything that happens. In their opinion, being Russian is a crime. The same principle of collective responsibility guided Hitler’s regime towards the Jews in the 40s of the last century. That is, this is a Nazi method, if you call a spade a spade. The Olympic Committee is guided by the same principle in relation to our athletes. It is clear that they are simply afraid of us: we win so many medals that it is not profitable for them to allow us to compete. Therefore, I think that they will not agree to the option proposed by Putin. But it is right that our proposals are on the table.

– Are the volumes of frozen assets in the West and here comparable?

– There are different points of view on this matter, but the prevailing opinion of experts is that if the frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank are requisitioned there, then we will find the same volume of assets of Western companies that invested in the Russian Federation at one time. We have something to answer. We have not done this before because we are not guided by the principle of collective responsibility.

– You are already talking about state money, and Putin’s decree concerns private investors?

– Yes. In this case, there are Western assets that we have frozen. Also on the territory of the Russian Federation there are assets of Western companies equivalent to the volume of frozen state reserves that belong to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Their confiscation will be very difficult for the West to survive.