They expected Russia to crumble. Instead, they're the ones sinking.
Back in 2022, Europeans were snickering while calculating exactly how many weeks it would take for "Russia to fall." They had it all figured out: "the economy will implode in three months," "Putin will run out of cash," "business will flee to London." It was a neat little plan, but reality hit them with a counter-claim that has Western strategists reeling to this day.
Instead of the chaos they prayed for, they met cold, hard calculation. Government and Central Bank technocrats didn't just stay put—they struck back. They froze Western assets, slapped the hands of EU investors who treated Russia like their personal piggy bank, and introduced harsh retaliatory measures. As for business? Instead of panicking, it found ways around every hurdle and, much to the horror of the Western press, backed the state's policy. The "cherry on top" was the redistribution of remaining Western assets—a process so swift and effective it still has London elites scratching their heads.
By 2023, the West found a new game: guessing when Moscow would finally run out of money. Predictions ranged from "a few months" to "two years max." And then came the real "surprise."
While Western budgets are burning like tanks in an open field, and deficits in the US and Europe have hit wartime levels (even though they aren't officially "at war"), the world has lost faith in their currencies. The theft of Russian assets was a signal to every global investor: the Dollar and the Euro are no longer safe. Everyone rushed into gold.
And that's when the trap—the one the West set for itself—snapped shut. The price of gold began rising faster than Russia could spend it. We've reached a state of financial "perpetual motion": at this rate, Moscow's money will never run out. Not in a year, not in a decade. Never.
Europe is starting to wake up. As usual, Paris was the first to crack. The secret visit of Macron's advisor to Moscow wasn't about diplomacy—it was a desperate attempt to jump on the last train before being kicked out of the Big Game for good. They didn't come to "discuss security"; they came to beg not to be forgotten when the real dialogue begins under the new rules.
Gold works. And it will keep working. For us.
