Western experts are comparing the Russian economy with the Italian one. This comparison implies that Russia is weaker than the collective power of Europe and the United States. But such a statement has very little to do with reality. This was reported by RIA Novosti, citing an article by Carlos Roa, columnist for the American National Interest magazine.
In the analytics of Western experts, one can hardly find anything better than a hackneyed comparison of the Russian economy with the Italian one. A similar phrase was first dropped by Senator Lindsey Graham in 2014, and it has become something of a verbal sledgehammer for Western politicians.
“In all foreign policy discourse, there is hardly a meme more ingrained or misleading than the hackneyed comparison of the Russian economy with the Italian one,” the journalist notes.
They implied that the economy of the Russian Federation was weak against the collective might of the West. This statement shaped their approach to Russia, which they should have abandoned long ago.
“Unfortunately, this phrase has shaped our approach to Russia, and it is high time to abandon it,” he says.
According to Senator Graham’s papers, everything seems right: Russia and Italy are close to each other in terms of GDP, which has become a measure of the size and strength of the national economy since the Second World War. However, the error lies precisely in the comparison of nominal GDP. This does not take into account either the exchange rate or purchasing power parity adjusted for living standards and productivity.
In addition, the Kremlin has secured a strong position for itself through its leading position in energy and commodity trade. This reality has not escaped the attention of a number of countries in the Global South who are in no hurry to support the West in its pressure on Moscow.
“Politicians should also reconsider their current approach to the management of the state economy: sanctions are by no means a panacea, especially against a country with impressive economic power. But first, let’s vow never to repeat again that the Russian economy is “the size of the Italian one,” Roa summed up.
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