The whole Trump being Putin’s puppet concept has been part of our national consciousness for a long, long time now. Sure, some strongly disagree with that premise but at least they acknowledge it’s widely believed by many both here in the U.S. and abroad. So, let’s proceed under the belief that Putin influences Trump and not in a good way. Especially for the United States and the free world. Think of it in terms of the Trump/Putin relationship being a case of parents watching their teen fall in with the wrong kid/crowd and being influenced in a bad way. Now we see a sign that maybe PUTIN is the one who got influenced by Trump to be a ‘bad kid’! Pootie’s not paying his bills and a crucial factory has had to shut down.
That’s my takeaway after reading this article by The Mirror US. Russia as you know had a long-feared military capability. They certainly have had a distinct advantage when it comes to military aircraft, from jets to highly capable helicopters. However sorties by Russian aircraft deep into Ukraine have cost them, and for those of us who pay attention it seems like Russia became (and continues to be) reluctant to risk them. Russia already was in a hole when it came to replacing what it had lost. Now they are in deep doo-doo because they can’t properly maintain what they already have.
It’s not just aircraft we’re talking about either. LOTS of military hardware both new and old. They never threw anything away. Not even old WWII era stuff that was intact and still ran or supposedly so. (remember that last part) For damned sure they had stockpiles of artillery and more importantly munitions that was insane, plus the ability to make more. They also had tons of people run through service in the Russian military, so in theory an endless supply of troops. Alas, when it came to tanks, armored vehicles, heavy trucks and even artillery pieces things turned out to be not as advertised.
It’s not like Russia hasn’t been able to pull a lot of that old equipment out of mothballs and send it to Ukraine. However that old stuff usually lasts about as long in battle as a brand new U.S. 2nd Lt. in a ‘hot LZ’ in Vietnam. A few minutes. So they need the newer stuff. The problem is that newer stuff relies on electronics. We aren’t just talking about jets and those truly fearsome Russian helicopters. All kinds of military equipment, even just trucks and jeeps now have computer chips in them. Without those chips/electronics they are useless. Stuff gets damaged in battle zones and needs fixing. If you don’t have the needed parts, you can’t do the fixing! Still, even before the addition of F-16s to the Ukrainian Air Force Russia has been averse to risking it’s higher end aircraft over Ukrainian skies.
Russia has a problem in that their ability to produce new jets and helicopters is limited. That problem now seems to have become worse because they have a key factory, Optron-Stavropol which makes crucial avionics parts Russia needs for what it does have that has had to suspend operations. Because Pootie is refusing to pay the going rates for those chips and other stuff they manufacture. That’s where my question about Trump turning out to be the one who’s a bad influence in the Trump/Putin relationship come from. Trump as you know has spent a lifetime not paying his bills. From lawyers (which he’s needed a lot of) to contractors and suppliers for his properties he owns or manages. Now we see Putin doing the same thing, only with crucial military production:
Vladimir Putin’s attempted invasion of Ukraine has suffered another significant setback as one of Russia’s key factories supporting the war effort was forced to shut down due to overwhelming debts.
Optron-Stavropol, situated in the southern city of Stavropol, was tasked with manufacturing microelectronics for aircraft and military equipment, including power semiconductors for MiG, Su, Tu, Sukhoi Superjet, and MS-21 aircraft.
Consequently, Optron sustained substantial losses while awaiting almost $3m in unpaid orders. This led to the cessation of production in March, followed by the freezing of its accounts by June as arrears began to accumulate due to salaries, taxes, and utility bills.
Optron is unable to independently set prices, as pricing is determined by the military under the law on state defense orders. Other manufacturers have also reported losses due to similar practices.
So you ask how does Trumpty factor into all this? Many a small, and sometimes even medium sized business has gone bankrupt because Trumpty stiffed them. He’d make up some bogus excuse, and either not pay or pay at a way reduced amount compared to the invoice. Often reduced to a point where it didn’t even cover the costs of the products/services provided, much less generate a bit of profit to the business/contractor.
Now we see Putin who can’t fight, much less win his war with Ukraine with a crippled (and self-crippled) military acting just like Trump! Refusing to pay, or pay what was actually owed for items already provided, and demanding new items for less than what it costs to produce them .
No wonder the factory has shut down. That the management would dare to take such a step in Putin’s Russia speaks volumes. He makes demands of them and in effect they are saying NO. That if he wants want they provide he/Russia has to pay just like anyone else. That’s a serious act of defiance, and suggests to me that in Putin’s circle of Oligarchs (who tend to such matters for him) Putin’s hand is no longer the Royal Flush, or even Four-Of-A-Kind hand he had for so long. He might still have a full house with high face cards but if all of a sudden he’s no longer playing with a stacked-in-his-favor deck he’s got problems. Problems that go beyond his war in Ukraine.
I have no doubt Putin could come up with the money needed to pay the factory that produces these chips/electronics his military needs. VITAL items. The fact it’s come to this, that this key factor has had to close tells me Putin has been juggling and can’t keep all the balls in the air anymore. If he shells out money for this, then something else vital to his keeping iron-fisted control has to give. No wonder the dude is paranoid. Despite his own delusions of grandeur (in Pooties case ruling a new USSR) he’s been more realistic and smarter/level-headed than Trump. Yet now he’s acting like Trump – the pre-politics Trump who stiffed any and everybody whenever he could!
Keep an eye on this. If Putin really can’t pay his bills anymore Russia is closer to the edge of collapsing than we realize. If you’re old enough you remember how shocking it was when the old USSR imploded. It had spent so much on its military might that they were ‘hollowed out’ and I can’t help but wonder if this is a sign Putin, the guy who has been obsessed with rebuilding the old USSR ever since it failed has gone and done the same thing. What would happen this time is a different situation that’s too complicated to get into here. However that’s a whole separate topic. For now I suggest keeping an eye on this because it could turn out to be a very big deal. Putin is now, at least in one way imitating Trump! Wow.
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That would be fantastic. Hopefully the Russian people will stand up to Putin’s crap and what’s left of their oligarchy will help Putin finally receive his just rewards.
probably not the same thing. trump doesn’t pay because he doesn’t feel like it or because of some imagined slight. putin isn’t paying because the Russian government doesn’t have the money. they don’t have the money because oligarchs like putin (reputedly if not officially the richest man on the planet) have been skimming from the treasury for decades. their economy isn’t generating enough taxes and sanctions are taking a toll. this could be a sign that Russia is on the verge of economic collapse. Republicans, and a few democrats, should pay attention because they’re setting up the same conditions here.
Trump often didn’t have the money either. For most of his career he was juggling things (or rather Weiselberg was) because he was so often “cash poor” – not enough actual cash on hand. There’s a difference between assets (buildings, equipment, land etc.) that rich people and/or companies possess and actual cash they can shell out on any given day. Keep in mind Trump’s multiple bankruptcies too. Again, there are numerous people like that who are “leveraged” in that banks keep them afloat in the hopes of getting at least some of their money back – but hold a marker on one or more assets they can sell off in case of default.
Trump got to the point where no U.S. bank would even deal with him. Just wrote off the bad loans. So Trump became a rich person version of regular folks that get payday loans or use one credit card to pay the monthly payment on another. Juggling bills. Lots of people and families juggle expenses in more conventional ways. Choose to suffer a late payment by paying the electricity bill in a given month instead of the one they need for internet/cable. That kind of thing. Trump’s lived most of his adult life scrambling to maintain his appearance of being wealthy. Worse, even when he’s had money on hand (at times he has been flush for a little while) he’s still been a cheapskate – fucking over others just because he could and enjoyed doing so.
Hell, you’ve seen our country do it at times when conservatives pull their stunts with trying to force gutting Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid (and other programs they don’t like) by not raising the debt limit. For a while a Treasury Secretary can move some money around to avoid default, delaying money for say improvements at military bases.
Putin COULD pay (as you note) the money needed to have avoided this factory shutting down out of his own pocket. It would be tip money to him personally, and given he’s not winning a war he started and if he doesn’t win will cost him his life is why I find this so interesting. Maybe it won’t turn out to matter much but the fact this CEO is still breathing (and the other executives at that factory) is amazing. At least to me. Putin has been told by a company/factory he truly needs to get stuffed and it’s public knowledge yet no one has been arrested, much less shot in the back of the head.
Maybe, just maybe Putin doesn’t have the power we thought he had. If others join in which it seems might be happening I find it hard to believe the Oligarchs will allow this to continue. Putin isn’t a young guy anymore and reportedly had stomach cancer. People do survive such things and medical care over there is better than you’d think. Still, he’s got issues (when was the last time he put out fresh video/photos of him riding a horse with no shirt on?) and I think it’s possible he’s in the water with sharks circling. For the moment he’s able to poke them away but as those who’ve been on a ship that went down can tell you there comes a point where the sharks don’t back off. They start grabbing and killing/eating survivors in life rafts!
didn’t soviets leave a lot of their tanks and other equipment in Afghanistan in 1989 when they left? Also there’s steep sanctions on Russia from the EU right now and have been so that’s catching up with them
A thought I had is that Putin can’t even turn to the Chinese for chips. I’m sure they will not provide tech without appropriate payment. Yep, as far as money goes, Trump is like a diode-he’s a one way device. He will accept money, but sure won’t pay it out if he can help it.