Oliver Stone - The Putin Interviews

OS:But you didn’t answer my question about Sanders.

VP:You can take what I’ve just said as an answer to your question.

OS:[laughter]

VP:My colleague, Obama promised to close Guantanamo. He’s failed to do that.

OS:Good point.

VP:But I’m convinced that he sincerely wanted to do that. He still wants to, but he’s failed to.

So what’s said in all those pre-election promises has to be remembered. But it doesn’t mean that we’ll have to deal with that.

OS:But you do realize how powerful your answer could be—if you said suddenly that you didn’t prefer X candidate, you would go like that tomorrow. And if you said you loved Y candidate, they would go the other way—it would create a stir. Anyone you liked would go down, and anyone you didn’t like… Let’s say you hated Donald Trump or something because he’s a madman, right? What would happen? He’d win. You have that amount of power in the US.

VP:Unlike many partners of ours, we never interfere within the domestic affairs of other countries. That is one of the principles we stick to in our work.

OS:So why are you so hated in the US?

VP:You answered this question at the beginning of our conversation. The ruling class believe that they have to fight Russia, that they have to restrain Russia, to contain our development. Certainly, brainwashing is one of the tools to create the necessary political environment to achieve these goals. These goals are the false ones and this policy is erroneous. I do hope that once the new president is elected, we will be able to build relations which will change the paradigm for the relations between Russia and the United States for the better.

OS:Okay thank you, sir. We’ll see you tomorrow.

OS:Hello, Mr. President—how are you today?

VP:How are you?

OS:I’m a little tired—I was sleeping back there, but you look better today.

VP:You were like a bear in hibernation during wintertime. [laughter]

OS:Well, in Russia things are backward. I stay awake later, and I wake up later. So my body doesn’t know if it’s day or night.

VP:It’s very difficult, I understand.

OS:But you look happier tonight than you did last night.

VP:Yes, yesterday evening I had a lot of things to do.

OS:I could tell—it was in your face.

VP:And today I was dealing with economic matters and I like it more.

OS:You like economics?

VP:Well, addressing concrete issues is always more interesting.

OS:But economics is never concrete.

VP:These economics related to finance, to funding concrete programs, social issues. So these are concrete matters.

OS:Well, economics, they’re always projections. They call themselves a social science, but the projections are generally fucked up. [laughter]

VP:Well, at least there are some benchmarks we can use as orientation marks. But you’re right—certainly, there is very much uncertainty, many unknown factors, and yet decisions have to be made. And I think it’s very close to being an art in itself.

OS:More art than science?

VP:Well, it’s also a science—there’s no doubt about that. But it’s a very complicated science.

OS:The Chinese emperors, every year, used to cut off the heads of the economics minister when it didn’t come in exactly like he projected.

VP:Yes. [laughter]

OS:Sergey Glazyev? Is that his name—your deputy? [109] Background Information: See, “Russia’s Ultimate Lethal Weapon,” Pepe Escobar, Counterpunch (September 18, 2015). Retrieved at: http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/09/18/russias-ultimate-lethal-weapon/

VP:Right now he’s my advisor.

OS:Yes, he’s said some very interesting things. How close is he? He’s economics, right?

VP:Yes, economics. He’s a very talented person, but he has a view of his own on the development of the Russian economy and the global economy. He’s always arguing with what the economic part of the government says.

OS:Yes, the Central Bank people—I heard he said some shocking stuff like Russia should establish currency controls.

VP:Yes, controls, some restrictions—restricting the capital flow, the export of capital.

OS:But you haven’t done most of that yet?

VP:We have not adopted these measures and we’re not intending to. And yet it’s always useful to listen to opinions which contradict those that dominate right now.

OS:Well, he must’ve pissed off the Central Bankers.

VP:The Central Bank is not very happy with him and he’s not very happy with the Central Bank. It’s normal.

OS:I gather. We were talking about that last night. I was thinking—I forgot to raise the point, but in Brazil for example, because I know Ms. Rousseff, I don’t feel she has any cooperation in her administration from the Central Bankers of Brazil.

VP:Well, you should probably ask her about that. She’s a very prominent woman. And a good politician.

OS:Can we just walk around so we see the room?

VP:That is the throne room. At the center, that is the throne for the czar and also for the Dowager Empress. And this hall is called St. Andrew Hall—you can see the emblem of St. Andrew—it’s the first court, one of the orders of the Russian empire. [110] Background Information: Tsar Alexander III (reigned from March 12, 1881 – November 1, 1894) with his wife Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (Princess Dagmar of Denmark) See, http://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/mariabio.html

OS:You know, they say you want to be czar. They do magazine covers on it.

VP:Probably they like that… and that’s why I say that. [laughter] They cannot get rid of these old stereotypes.

OS:But you allowed Charlie Rose to make a point, which I think you should have stopped him at one point, because I think he went too far. He said in his interview with you, I was paying attention. In a way that was very leading, he implied, ‘You have all the power, you can do what you want.’ He made it very clear and that’s the way many Americans think—that there’s no system here. And you didn’t correct him. [111] Background Information: Charlie Rose interview, (September 29, 2015) https://charlierose.com/videos/22696

VP:The question is not about having much power, it’s about using the power that you have in the right way. And those people who say that they lack power in something are those people who cannot use any power whatsoever. And they think that they need more and more power. And they always look at those people who have more power than they do—think they have less power—but they cannot use it efficiently.

OS:Well, then you should shoot the interpreter too. [to Sergei] Was it you? Because I don’t think you understood the question that Rose was leading you to. In other words, in English it sounded like you were the czar and you took it for granted. You took it for granted. That’s what I meant.