I found this here more interesting – same speech:
”
The world has lately come to face an unheard-of surge of violence and other aggressive actions, such as Georgia’s adventurous sortie in the Caucasus, recent terrorist attacks in India, and escalation of violence in Gaza Strip. Although not apparently linked directly, these developments still have common features.
First of all, I am referring to the existing international organisations’ inability to provide any constructive solutions to regional conflicts, or any effective proposals for interethnic and interstate settlement. Multilateral political mechanisms have proved as ineffective as global financial and economic regulators.
Frankly speaking, we all know that provoking military and political instability, regional and other conflicts is a helpful means of distracting the public from growing social and economic problems. Such attempts cannot be ruled out, unfortunately.
To prevent this scenario, we need to improve the system of international relations, making it more effective, safe and stable.”

Posted by: outsider | Jan 29 2009 12:50 utc | 4

no alabama, I do not think any western economist would use “surplus assets” for nationalisation
Putin’s speech writers analysis rings true – especially the part about printing money:
“The entire economic growth system, where one regional centre prints money without respite and consumes material wealth, while another regional centre manufactures inexpensive goods and saves money printed by other governments, has suffered a major setback.
I would like to add that this system has left entire regions, including Europe, on the outskirts of global economic processes and has prevented them from adopting key economic and financial decisions.
Moreover, generated prosperity was distributed extremely unevenly among various population strata. This applies to differences between social strata in certain countries, including highly developed ones. And it equally applies to gaps between countries and regions.
A considerable share of the world’s population still cannot afford comfortable housing, education and quality health care. Even a global recovery posted in the last few years has failed to radically change this situation.
And, finally, this crisis was brought about by excessive expectations. Corporate appetites with regard to constantly growing demand swelled unjustifiably. The race between stock market indices and capitalisation began to overshadow rising labour productivity and real-life corporate effectiveness.
Unfortunately, excessive expectations were not only typical of the business community. They set the pace for rapidly growing personal consumption standards, primarily in the industrial world. We must openly admit that such growth was not backed by a real potential. This amounted to unearned wealth, a loan that will have to be repaid by future generations.
This pyramid of expectations would have collapsed sooner or later. In fact, this is happening right before our eyes.”

Posted by: outsider | Jan 29 2009 13:50 utc | 6

“In the last few months, virtually every speech on this subject started with criticism of the United States. But I will do nothing of the kind.
I just want to remind you that, just a year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasised the US economy’s fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist. In just 12 months, they have posted losses exceeding the profits they made in the last 25 years. This example alone reflects the real situation better than any criticism.“
Ouch!
Great speach, do you think anyone attending was listening?

Posted by: David | Jan 29 2009 15:46 utc | 8

When a leader of a country that lost her status as a top superpower in the world just a few decades ago has a far better grasp of the global economy (especially as it relates to war) than the leader of the super-est of superpowers of the world, then we know it’s high time for America to hang up her hat as a superpower for good.

Posted by: Cynthia | Jan 29 2009 16:53 utc | 10

Not surprising. Back in the day when he was stationed in E.Germany, Putin was charged with studying capitalist systems and industry. So he’s a bit of a deep student of the subject.
This fact about him has been obscured in the west by the propaganda about the KGB agent stealing western technology. Remember, this was in the post Andropov Gorbachev (ptui, ptui) era, when the KGB was a force for change in the USSR.

Posted by: Thrasyboulos | Jan 29 2009 17:37 utc | 12

Cloned Poster- How ’bout KGB/Politics/Business and a guy clever enough to rise to the top of all three…
b- the gears of the world are shifting/shifted, more and more “urban” americans are comfortable with the idea of globalism, or should I say, comfortable with any idea proposed to “fix” what is unfixable. Us hicks in the sticks, look at what’s happening and don’t like it, because some of us know where it leads, others because it means change and they hate ANY change, even if it were out of wet shorts.
The urban types run the show over on this side of the pond, even out here in the sticks. It’s the smart, greedy city slickers, recently relocated to the boondocks, wearing a new Stetson on their head, with a lawyer in their back pocket and forty shitty acres to develop (once they get rid of the cattle ranch next door) who slime the halls of power and slip right into office. They’d sell their three-year-olds to white slavers if the price were right and never once lose a wink of sleep over the deal… unless someone stopped by afterwards and offered more.
These folks don’t care what the face on the tv looks like, as long as the dollars flow. Global equality through global greed.
Damn got off subject, what I’m saying is that that the american business/political elite don’t care whose face is in front of the masses, as long as they’re still making money. I’m sure the folks at the WSJ (or their masters) are curious how that paper’s readership responds
I still think the speech is a fine moment of statesmanship, but I spoke on the phone with a friend about it and he dismissed the whole thing saying, “He just blamed everything on the United States,” which I guess must be NPR’s take on what was said, because my friend hadn’t read the speech.

Posted by: David | Jan 29 2009 18:03 utc | 14

Putin is playing to his audience, and giving obvious talking points, good ones in today’s miserable landscape. My comments in (..) and my *.
He melds various memes:
– China US trade imbalance
– failure of Wall Street (but not the Russian banks or the rouble)
– more regulation is needed (duh but what who knows)
– lack of relation between the ‘real’ economy and finance, growth not backed by real potential..
– development is stalled or didn’t happen (surprise! sound pious)
– excessive expectations (aka. greed) is to blame
– Isolationism and protectionism must be not be embraced – trade barriers, boo! I apologize for our nation not embracing the free market in the past… (!)
here is a key phrase:
This means we must assess the real situation and write off all hopeless debts and “bad” assets.
(oil rich countries would prefer a leveling so that they can sell their assets; a recession and low commodity prices are death for them.)
and another:
Second. Apart from cleaning up our balance sheets, it is high time we got rid of *virtual money*, exaggerated reports and dubious ratings.
continues:
… that the audit, accounting and ratings system reform must be based on a reversion to the fundamental asset value concept. In other words, assessments of each individual business must be based on its ability to generate added value, rather than on subjective concepts. In our opinion, the economy of the future must become an economy of *real values*….
(nail salons, hedge funds, Starbucks don’t represent real values; CDS are subjective values, etc.)
Excessive dependence on a single reserve currency is dangerous for the global economy.
heh! Surprised he said it. The drift of the rest is clear, this post is too long already.

Posted by: Tangerine | Jan 29 2009 20:23 utc | 16