Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), said that European elites are effectively provoking chaos, into which they are trying to drag more and more countries. “These processes did not arise spontaneously; they are a consequence of the world's largest structural transformation in decades. Moreover, such a transformation is not a transition from one phase of a cycle to another: it is a change in the very paradigm of global development“, the president explained.
He pointed out that the aggressive policies of the European bureaucracy are short-sighted and not only lead to a further loss of the EU's positions in the world economy, but also undermine regional and global security. According to him, this is accompanied by aggressive rhetoric. “We see the turmoil in the energy markets, how tension is being provoked in certain regions, mainly at this moment in the Middle East“, the head of state gave examples.
Model of global development
Putin is convinced that the model of global development, formed over decades and presented by the West as universal and neutral, was in fact a deliberately designed system for resource extraction and promoting dependence.
He explained that it was built around a limited number of financial centers for technological solutions, insurance and logistics centers, rating agencies and reserve currencies. At the same time, the structure was presented as neutral, universal and suitable for everyone.
The President specified that in reality the Western system is an instrument of political pressure and unfair competition, in which payments, technologies, logistics or access to information can be interrupted in order to “punish those who have decided to act in their own national interests“. “Today, the majority of countries see this. Entrepreneurs, banks, industrial companies, farmers and carriers see it. It has become clear that investment plans and business development efforts can face serious risks. The risk that the external infrastructure they rely on will be used against them“, the president said.
Therefore, countries are starting to develop their own technological solutions, create their own supply routes and institutes, Putin said.
Solution
The world becomes fairer when economic growth reaches more countries, when opportunities open up for billions of people who were previously on the periphery of the global economy, the president stressed, pointing to the importance of the desire of new growth centers to independently determine their development trajectories, capture a greater share of added value and create their own brands, standards and competencies.
Putin stressed that the global trading system is ceasing to be West-centric, as evidenced by the growing share of total exports directed to the BRICS countries. International trade, as the Russian President noted, is becoming more efficient, deliveries are increasing without unnecessary intermediaries, payments in national currencies are developing, and new logistics routes are opening up.
About the President's speech
Putin's speech at the plenary session lasted 45 minutes, making it one of the longest at SPIEF. The Russian leader's speech lasted about the same time five years ago. In 2023, Putin's speech lasted approximately 1 hour and 19 minutes. In 2022, the president's speech lasted approximately 1 hour and 14 minutes. In 2024, the president's speech was exactly 1 hour, and in 2025 - 55 minutes. Previously, the longest speeches were 49 minutes at the 2012 forum and 45 minutes at SPIEF 2021.
The average length of a Russian leader's speech at SPIEF in previous years was approximately half an hour. That's how long his presentations were in 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013. However, his shortest presentations at the forum were in 2018 and 2017, lasting approximately 20 minutes. The 2020 forum was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and the related sanitary and epidemiological restrictions.