“The West has abandoned Russia, that is often lost sight of”
Dirk Tieleman is one of the most renowned foreign journalists from Belgium. He traveled the world for decades to report, often from places where no other journalist had been in years. This also often took him to Russia. In 1988, he went there for the first time as a journalist for the Belgian public broadcaster. He therefore has a more nuanced view of the conflict and how the current situation within Russian society could have arisen.
Following the publication of his book “The Fray of Russia,” the retired journalist spoke with Het Nieuwsblad.
Where did things go wrong for Russia, was asked to experienced Russia expert Dirk Tieleman.
“Gorbachev quickly had to give way to Yeltsin. The latter wanted to make major changes together with the West, but it all happened far too abruptly. Prices were let go and that led to massive inflation. In Poland they had just done the same thing, but there the West had made sure that the preconditions were met. For example, that no additional bills were printed. In Russia, that didn't happen and it exploded. An inflation rate of 2,000 percent, you can hardly imagine. A 1 ruble loaf of bread cost 2,000 rubles a month later.”
And then that resulted in gigantic poverty. According to the Belgian journalist, the West really dropped Russia like a stone back then. And we still see those consequences today in Russian society.
“Russia was then abandoned to wild capitalism when the country was not ready for it. The West abandoned Russia, this is often lost sight of. A proliferation developed with super-rich people on one side, the oligarchs with their luxury yachts, and on the other side people who had to sell their household goods to get something to eat in the evening.”
(SR for Tagtik/Source: The fray of Russia - Het Nieuwsblad/Illustration picture: Pixabay)