Dusseldorf Eastern Europe historian Karl Schlögel is concerned about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war rhetoric: “This man who is willing to reduce Aleppo to rubble is also doing it in the middle of Europe,” Schlögel warned in the “Handelsblatt Today” podcast.
Putin announced on Sunday that he would put his country’s “weapons of deterrence” on alert. Although he did not speak explicitly of nuclear weapons, the “weapons of deterrence” also include nuclear bombs in addition to an arsenal of ballistic missiles.
Schlögel was personally presented with the Pushkin Medal by Vladimir Putin in 2013 – an award from the Russian state. But because of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Schlögel gave up the medal again in 2014.
Since then he has repeatedly warned against Russia: “I’m glad that people have finally woken up and are facing reality.” Putin’s speeches showed a “loss of reality that is very dangerous for Russia, but also for the world”.
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Schlögel is clear: Putin’s only concern is maintaining his power. Nevertheless, the 73-year-old is certain that Putin will fail. The only question is “how big and terrible the victims will be”.
Sanctions against the Central Bank of Russia
Also: In response to Russia’s major offensive in Ukraine, the EU and numerous other Western countries have excluded certain Russian banks from the Swift international payment system. In addition, sanctions against the Russian central bank came into effect on Monday.
As a countermeasure, Russia’s central bank Rossii doubled the key interest rate to 20 percent and limited trading in the Russian ruble. The stock exchange in Moscow will be closed this Monday. But what does this mean in concrete terms for the Russian economy? Handelsblatt financial editor Andreas Körner classifies the situation.
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