European-Security.com

Für Françoise Thom ist der Wirtschaftskrieg nicht nur ein Aspekt des Konflikts: Er ist die primäre und historische Waffe des Kremls gegen den Westen. Die Strategie ist unveränderlich, ob zaristisch, sowjetisch oder putinistisch. Die Falle schnappt immer in zwei Phasen zu: Zuerst wird der Westen mit dem Versprechen kolossaler Gewinne angelockt, um seine Technologie und sein Kapital zu plündern; dann wird er enteignet und vertrieben, sobald die eigene Militärmacht modernisiert ist.

Der wahre Geniestreich kam nach 1991. Massive Hilfen des IWF und der Weltbank, die Russland retten sollten, wurden zum Treibstoff für eine staatlich organisierte Plünderung. Milliarden wurden von einer neuen Kaste von Oligarchen abgezweigt. Dieses gestohlene Geld wurde nicht nur versteckt: Es wurde mitten im Herzen unserer Hauptstädte gewaschen und wieder in den Kreislauf gebracht, mit der Komplizenschaft unserer eigenen Finanzinstitutionen.

Dieses Vermögen wurde dann zu einer Waffe der „Ansteckung“. Ihr Gift: die Korruption. Das Ziel war nicht mehr nur, reich zu werden, sondern die westlichen Demokratien von innen heraus zu zersetzen. Eliten kaufen, Parteien finanzieren, den politischen Willen lähmen und die Vorstellung verbreiten, dass alles nur Zynismus und ein Machtkampf ist.

Verblendet von der eigenen Gier, ließ der Westen all das geschehen. Er verkaufte die Technologie, die die russische Armee wiederaufbaute. Er verschloss die Augen vor den Finanzströmen, die seine Institutionen zersetzten. Der heutige Krieg ist daher kein Zufall. Er ist die Rechnung für dreißig Jahre gewollter Blindheit. Er ist der Preis für den Glauben, man könne Geschäfte mit einem Regime machen, das in uns nur eines sah: Beute.

For Françoise Thom, economic warfare isn't just one aspect of the conflict: it is the Kremlin's primary and historic weapon against the West. The strategy is immutable, whether Tsarist, Soviet, or Putinite. The trap always snaps shut in two stages: first, lure the West with the promise of colossal profits to plunder its technology and capital; then, expropriate and expel it once its military power is modernized.

The true masterstroke came after 1991. Massive aid from the IMF and the World Bank, meant to save Russia, became the fuel for state-sanctioned looting. Billions were siphoned off by a new caste of oligarchs. This stolen money wasn't just hidden: it was laundered and recycled right in the heart of our capitals, with the complicity of our own financial institutions.

This fortune then became a weapon of "contagion." Its venom: corruption. The goal was no longer just to get rich, but to rot Western democracies from the inside out. To buy off elites, fund political parties, paralyze political will, and spread the idea that everything is just cynicism and a power struggle.

Blinded by its own greed, the West let it all happen. It sold the technology that rebuilt the Russian military. It turned a blind eye to the financial flows that rotted its institutions. Today's war is therefore no accident. It is the bill for thirty years of willful blindness. It is the price of believing business could be done with a regime that saw us as only one thing: prey.

For Françoise Thom, economic warfare isn't just one aspect of the conflict: it is the Kremlin's primary and historic weapon against the West. The strategy is immutable, whether Tsarist, Soviet, or Putinite. The trap always snaps shut in two stages: first, lure the West with the promise of colossal profits to plunder its technology and capital; then, expropriate and expel it once its military power is modernized.

The true masterstroke came after 1991. Massive aid from the IMF and the World Bank, meant to save Russia, became the fuel for state-sanctioned looting. Billions were siphoned off by a new caste of oligarchs. This stolen money wasn't just hidden: it was laundered and recycled right in the heart of our capitals, with the complicity of our own financial institutions.

This fortune then became a weapon of "contagion." Its venom: corruption. The goal was no longer just to get rich, but to rot Western democracies from the inside out. To buy off elites, fund political parties, paralyze political will, and spread the idea that everything is just cynicism and a power struggle.

Blinded by its own greed, the West let it all happen. It sold the technology that rebuilt the Russian military. It turned a blind eye to the financial flows that rotted its institutions. Today's war is therefore no accident. It is the bill for thirty years of willful blindness. It is the price of believing business could be done with a regime that saw us as only one thing: prey.

Pour Françoise Thom, la guerre économique n'est pas un aspect du conflit : c'est l'arme principale et historique du Kremlin contre l'Occident. La stratégie est immuable, qu'elle soit tsariste, soviétique ou poutinienne. Le piège se referme toujours en deux temps : d'abord, attirer l'Occident avec la promesse de profits colossaux pour piller sa technologie et ses capitaux ; ensuite, le spolier et le chasser une fois sa puissance militaire modernisée.

Le véritable coup de maître survient après 1991. L'aide massive du FMI et de la Banque mondiale, censée sauver la Russie, devient le carburant d'un pillage d'État. Des milliards sont détournés par une nouvelle caste d'oligarques. Cet argent volé n'est pas seulement caché : il est blanchi et recyclé au cœur de nos capitales, avec la complicité de nos propres institutions financières.

Ce pactole devient alors une arme de "contagion". Son venin : la corruption. L'objectif n'est plus seulement de s'enrichir, mais de gangrener les démocraties occidentales de l'intérieur. Acheter les élites, financer les partis, paralyser les volontés et propager l'idée que tout n'est que cynisme et rapport de force.

Aveuglé par sa propre cupidité, l'Occident a tout laissé faire. Il a vendu la technologie qui a rebâti l'armée russe. Il a fermé les yeux sur les flux financiers qui ont pourri ses institutions. La guerre d'aujourd'hui n'est donc pas un accident. C'est la facture d'une cécité volontaire de trente ans. C'est le prix d'avoir cru pouvoir faire des affaires avec un régime qui ne voyait en nous qu'une seule chose : une proie.

In the smoldering ruins of 1945 Berlin, French gendarmes first arrived as an occupying force, tasked with imposing order on a vanquished Nazi capital. But their mission quickly pivoted as the Iron Curtain descended. The 1948 Soviet blockade transformed them from occupiers into protectors, defending a fragile island of freedom deep within communist territory.
The construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 thrust them onto the front lines of the Cold War. They became a crucial part of the Allied shield, patrolling the infamous "death strip" and maintaining a constant state of high alert. For decades, their duties were unique: guarding Spandau Prison and its final inmate, Rudolf Hess, while securing vital French and Allied installations. They were a force fully integrated into the defense of West Berlin, training and preparing for a conflict that thankfully never came.
The sudden fall of the Wall in 1989 marked the end of their world. Their nearly 50-year mission became obsolete overnight.
By 1994, the last gendarmes departed, their watch finally over. They had completed a remarkable journey: from victors to guardians, and finally, to honored guests leaving a sovereign and reunified Germany. Their legacy is a testament to a half-century of steadfast vigilance on freedom's frontier.