Multibillionaire Bernard Arnault is ready to kiss Putin's boot for pennies
On July 2 this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed amendments to Russia's alcohol law, which removed the term "sparkling wines and champagne". All that was left was "sparkling wines", and the term "Russian champagne" appeared. Consequently, "real" champagne from Champagne province in France will be allowed to be sold in Russia only as "sparkling wine", while only Russian-made drinks will count as champagne.
Moet Hennessy, the largest producer of "real" champagne, responded to such audacity by stopping all deliveries, but already two days later announced that it was ready to change the label for the Russian market and call the champagne sold there "sparkling wine". It should be noted that this is not about the main label, but the documentation and information label on the bottle in Russian.
One might think that this petty economic dispute is not even worth mentioning, but it has caused a great deal of international resonance. Not even so much as an economic conflict as a conflict of political worldviews. It is imperative to point out here that what is always more important is how something looks than how it really is, so this article is not about the nuances of this trade dispute. It's just about what it looks like and what the consequences may be.
The result of this dispute seems to be that Moet Hennessy quickly made concessions and demonstrated its readiness to comply with all Russian requirements to remain on their market. Can we talk about the readiness to humble oneself in front of Moscow? The lawyers of this move will probably find arguments to justify that, in fact, not everything is the way it seems and that the dispute is nothing of note. However, no arguments can hide the obvious: the French side has shown that it has a very pliant backbone and proved that Russian money is more important to them than principles. It has shown exactly what Putin wanted to prove when signing these amendments to the law.
Yes, I know that the businessmen close to Putin - winemakers - lobbied these changes into the law at the last minute, before the amendments were approved by the State Duma in the third reading. However, this does not matter, because this case makes us talk about something else. No longer about the economic aspects of this case, but about more serious issues. No more and no less than the security aspects of Europe and the world.
The question may arise: what is the connection between a small, even minuscule (on a global scale) economic dispute and world security? The most direct. Before any potential conflict, opponents assess each other's readiness to resist. It is the readiness to fight that is decisive, not the real balance of power. That's why I'm always annoyed by the moments that are often seen in movies, when an outwardly mundane but actually well-trained protagonist enters the bar and the local thugs provoke him, laugh at him and don't even notice that the unobtrusive hero is not afraid of them. In real life, not in movies, even the dumbest bar bruiser feels with his animal instinct - if someone is not afraid, then something is not right here and it is better not to start a conflict. But films have one dramatic canon and life has another. What does the specific case of French champagne tell us about the situation in the world?
Once upon a time, one of Hitler's closest (and wisest) allies, architect Albert Speer, tried to warn the Führer that relations with the United States should not be damaged and that the great power should at any cost not be allowed to go to war with Germany, because then victory would be impossible. Hitler had carelessly replied that those fancy, spoiled American dandies were no warriors. None of them would be ready to go from sitting at a New York bar counter to sleeping in muddy trenches, Hitler said contemptuously. As a result, this underestimation of opponents cost Hitler his life, and the rest of the world suffered tremendously.
Russia and its leader is currently the world's biggest troublemaker - the enfant terrible. It may seem to an outside observer that Putin's Russia is falling deeper and deeper into economic and technological backwardness. This country is rapidly moving away from the group of civilized countries and is becoming weaker. This is partly the case, and in many parts of Russia (with the exception of Moscow and other major cities) living conditions are more reminiscent of Africa than the civilized world. I've been to both equatorial Africa and the Russian province, so it's not just a figurative metaphor. That's really how it is. But the situation from inside Russia looks very different. Here again, the emphasis must be on the word "looks", because we are not talking about the objective circumstances of the case.
Russia is convinced that they are the only real "men" in this world of "damsels", "nobodies" and "losers" (the US and China do not count). Russian leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that he learned the principles of life in the streets of Leningrad, where the rules were harsh. According to these street principles, there must be no slightest mercy or sympathy for "losers". They must be milked as much as possible and used in his own interests in every way. Everything is allowed against them - deception, beating, temporary showing of favor in exchange for various benefits and the like.
Moet Hennessy's concessions only confirm the assumption prevalent in Russian society from the bottom to the very top that the West has become a cowardly, unprincipled and spineless, who is ready to do anything not to lose any of its comforts. Even more - to do absolutely everything. This time, the threshold of patience has been tested not only on the richest man in France - the multi-billionaire, the biggest owner of Moet Hennessy and the leader of the LVMH group Bernard Arnault - but also on the whole French people, because champagne is more than just an alcoholic beverage. It is the pride of France, even a national treasure in a sense. It is no wonder that the decision of Moet Hennessy in Russia is perceived unequivocally - as kissing a stretched boot in return for, not even rubles, but pennies (against the background of Arnault's billions).
It is difficult to say whether the Russian national understanding of good and evil is really so poorly understood in France, but it is quite clear that nothing is over. The boot will be stretched out for kissing again and again. More and more often. In addition, kissing conditions will become increasingly degrading and humiliating. No other historical development is possible. One can, of course, judge differently whether such a calming tactic on a hooligan, actively practiced not only by businessmen but also by French political leaders, helps to keep the peace or, on the contrary, increasingly reminds of Winston Churchill's words in parliament after the Munich agreement: "You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, and you will have war."
My personal experience shows that the only way to put a brazen hooligan where he belongs is a sharp, sometimes asymmetrically sharp backlash. Any attempts at flattery only exacerbate the situation, so attempts to "negotiate" something with Russia do not increase the overall level of security in the world.
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