Press Release
Glazyev: Greek Referendum, an Uprising
Against the "World Money Power," Sets a Precedent
June 2015
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)
Sergei Glazyev at St. Petersburg, March 22, 2014. |
July 6, 2015 (EIRNS)—Russian reactions to yesterday’s "No" vote by the people of Greece against the Troika’s austerity demands were colored both by the historical ties of Russia and Greece, including as predominantly Orthodox nations, and by sensitivity to the West’s economic and geostrategic confrontationism. The anchorwoman of the Sunday evening news round-up on Channel One Russia wore the colors of the Greek flag, as she delivered the referendum results and introduced a segment contrasting the IMF’s attitude toward Greece with its geopolitically motivated policies in the case of Ukraine.
Kommersant, the business daily, today interviewed an array of think tankers and public figures, asking them "Are you for what the Greeks did?" Academician Sergei Glazyev, President Putin’s adviser on Eurasian integration issues, delivered this blistering reply, also posted on his own website:
"I am, of course, for the Greeks, for the following reasons. First of all, the very fact of holding the referendum drew a limit to the hegemony of the eurobureaucracy, which until now had succeeded in subordinating all national governments within the EU to itself. I define the EU as a bureaucratic empire, the backbone of which is the eurobureaucacy, serving the interests of European and American corporations. Like any imperial power, the eurobureaucracy attempts to expand and to subjugate the national governments of all EU member countries, which are deprived of sovereignty and transformed into regions of this bureaucratic empire. Unlike the case of Ukraine, the europoliticians in this case could not rely on making a coup d’etat.
"The Greek referendum is essentially an uprising against the bureaucratic oppression of Brussels, and a rebirth of the European social-democratic tradition. It provides the European nations, crushed by the eurobureacracy, with an example of fighting for one’s rights.
"Secondly, the referendum draws a limit to the policy of redistributing the national income in favor of financial speculators, who have been the recipients of the bulk of financial ‘aid’ to Greece. In essence, this has been lender refinancing, under terms of Greece’s assuming the obligation to pay interest by slashing the population’s income.
"Thirdly, Greece’s rejection of the fetters of conditionalities, attached to international ‘aid,’ creates a precedent for the clash between the world money power and the people. This is a stress test of the current world financial architecture. That architecture essentially consists of several global financial pyramids, and Greece’s default could cause an avalanche effect, meaning their self-destruction. The Greek referendum may become the prologue to the crash of the world financial system. Unless, of course, pre-emptive measures be taken for transition to a new, more just and rational system of international financial relations."
