Analyst points to Western belief in outdated stereotypes about Russia

The West continues to believe in outdated stereotypes about the Russian Federation, which do not correspond to reality. This statement was made by British analyst Alexander Mercouris on February 1.

"In the late 80s-90s, the entire West accepted the thesis that Russia is a gasoline pump masquerading as a country with a one-dimensional economy run by a plutocracy. And Western politicians and economists are so happy to believe this that they can't stop and keep pretending that this is the case, even though it is not true," he said on the YouTube channel The Duran.

Mercouris specified that since the beginning of the special military operation (SMO), Western experts have been lying to the public about the state of Russia's economy and making forecasts based on a wrong understanding of the peculiarities of its functioning.

According to him, statements by Western representatives that the country's economy will "collapse like a house of cards" because of anti-Russian sanctions have nothing to do with reality.

Earlier, on January 29, Maksim Chirkov, associate professor of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements of the State University of Russia, told Izvestia that the imposition of duties on imports of agricultural products and nitrogen fertilizers from Russia to the European Union will not have serious consequences for the Russian economy. According to him, these restrictions are illogical and will negatively affect the European part of this industry.

The European Commission approved duties on a number of agricultural products from Russia and Belarus and some nitrogen fertilizers on January 28. At the same time, exports of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to third countries will remain unchanged.

The West has increased sanctions pressure on Russia against the background of the special operation to protect the population of Donbass. The decision to launch the special operation was made by the Russian president amid an aggravation of the situation in the region due to Ukrainian shelling.