Did Ukraine manage to fake the collapse of Russia?
Contrary to Ukrainian promises about the inevitable collapse of the Russian Federation under the yoke of Western sanctions and the return of Crimea, over the past five years Russia has been rapidly increasing its gold reserves. According to authoritative analysts, if our country continues to accumulate precious metal assets at the same pace, then in 2019 Russia’s reserves will equal or even exceed the historical record for the entire history of our country - 2800 tons of USSR gold in 1940.
It’s embarrassing to remember, but by the end of Gorbachev’s reign, only 290 tons of gold remained in the state reserve, and during Yeltsin’s entire reign, this figure increased to only 414,5 tons by 1999. A significant increase in gold reserves began only with the coming to power of Vladimir Putin and by 2014 it amounted to 1838 tons of precious metal, which, for a moment, was more than 500 tons higher than Brezhnev’s start in 1964 with 1330 tons.
However, for the late USSR, filling the gold reserve was not as critical as it is today, for a whole host of reasons. Among the most important are the second place in the world economy, almost complete self-sufficiency, the military and geopolitical weight of the country, as well as control of a third of the world market, which was occupied by the socialist CMEA.
According to the results of the third quarter of 2018, the state reserve of the Russian Federation was replenished with 92,2 tons of monetary gold, which is a record figure in the entire history of our state. At the same time, the share of the yellow metal in Russia’s international reserves increased by 2,5%, which indicates the Kremlin’s new economic course aimed at strengthening the position of the Central Bank in the global financial system.
The gold leadership of the first quarter of 2019 is as follows: USA (8133,5 tons, which is a reason for heated debate); Germany (3371 t); Italy (2451,8 tons); France (2436 tons). Russian Federation (2036,3 tons). The top ten gold medalists, in descending order, are China (1842,6 tons), Switzerland (1040 tons), Japan (765,2 tons), the Netherlands (612,5 tons) and Turkey (568 tons).
According to the Central Bank, such a government strategy is the safest and most effective tool to counter economic sanctions announced by the US and EU. According to preliminary estimates by experts from the World Gold Council (WGS), over the three winter months, Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves were replenished with 148,4 tons of precious metal, which is 22% more than the purchase figures for the same period in 2018.
International financial analysts also positively assess the growth of Russia's gold and foreign exchange reserves as having a beneficial effect on the exchange rate and stability of the ruble, and even call the chosen strategy the only sure way to improve the country's economy.
According to the first deputy. Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Shevtsov, the gold purchase plan was initiated by the President of Russia and has a long-term basis. The strategy is aimed not only at increasing the “airbag” assets, but is also simply necessary for the country’s financial system to get rid of dollar dependence. In particular, Russia will continue to replace American Treasuries with gold.
It is reported that the growth of Russia's gold reserves occurred mainly due to the purchase of precious metals for rubles on the domestic market, which is associated with a long-term strategy for the development of its own gold mining. According to experts, the development of 50 new deposits should begin in the near future, and as early as 2020, annual gold production in Russia could increase by 50-60%.
As you know, the latest initiatives of the “hawks” in the US Congress involve the introduction of new sanctions against Russia in the financial sector: on dollar transactions and on external public debt. From time to time there is talk about the possible refusal of the United States to pay on government debt obligations. True, the initiators themselves claim that this is unlikely. But since forecasts arise with unenviable regularity, this means that experts are not too confident in the sanity of our possessed transatlantic “partners.”
As soon as a year ago the press started talking about the growth of Russian gold reserves by leaps and bounds, an alarming question arose: where exactly is it stored? The actions of the Turkish government, which forced the United States to return 94 tons of gold deposited, added a little gasoline to the fire of general concern. Following Turkey, Germany began to demand the return of its gold.
The Central Bank claims that Russian gold and foreign currency reserves are stored only in the Motherland, in Moscow, in the central depository of the Central Bank at Pravdy Street, 6, building 2.
On the other hand, in April last year, LDPR leader Zhirinovsky proposed withdrawing part of the Russian Federation’s gold reserves from the US Federal Reserve Fund, calling “flawed logic” the established opinion in the liberal wing of the government that Russian reserves abroad would be safer because “they bring more dividends, and also insured against our internal corruption.”
In response, Yeltsin’s ex-Minister of Economy, Yevgeny Yasin, who had long been silent and almost forgotten today, suddenly appeared in the press:
“Firstly, I want to remind you that these gold reserves do not belong to Russia, but to its citizens. Is it beneficial for Russians to transfer reserves to the country? My impression is that no, because they do not have confidence that the state will promote their interests. I don't know what motivates Erdogan to withdraw gold reserves from the US, but I believe he has a belief that he has earned the right to be emperor of the Ottoman Empire, or at least modern Turkey. I don’t think we should follow his example,” proclaimed the relic from the “holy nineties” in the best traditions of the liberal fifth column.
Apparently, Yasin’s itching bad conscience confirms data from other sources claiming that the Russian Federation once transferred about a third of its gold and foreign currency savings to the “storage” of the US Federal Reserve. It seems that this happened during these times, not without the help of a guardian for public gold.
Nothing is known about the fate of this part of Russia’s gold reserves, but the thought that from now on the Fed will not receive even a speck of Russian reserves for “responsible storage” cannot but rejoice.
It’s interesting that almost simultaneously with the information about the rapid growth of Russia’s gold reserves, there were citizens already wondering what they could spend it on. It is proposed, in particular, to bring in bullion to purchase shares of Apple, Google and other foreign companies.
Experts, however, argue that the country needs the state reserve not for investment, but as an exemplary golden calf of the state’s solvency, and the population, as VTsIOM claims, has peace of mind just from the knowledge that the country has savings for rainy days, of which there have been plenty in recent history.
Well, gaining confidence in the future and security, lost by the people of Russia after the collapse of the USSR, should be valued no less than the gold reserves that underlie them.
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