Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Is a Much-Needed Victory in World War C
Russia came out first in the vaccine race after President Putin announced the registration of its “Sputnik V” COVID-19 vaccine, which was a much-needed victory in World War C that will accelerate the country’s economic systemic transition, advance its national interests across the world through the vanguard of its “medical diplomacy”, and enable its state-funded “Russian Direct Investment Fund” that’s responsible for this scientific breakthrough to more confidently compete with the US’ Gates Foundation for influence in the global healthcare industry and all that entails.
Smashing Stereotypes
The word Russia conjures many various images in the minds of the world’s population, but none is probably more common than that of a “gas station with nukes” that many Americans have been taught to imagine as a result of the popularization of one of their government’s information warfare narratives. What’s meant by this demeaning description is the factually false stereotype that the Eurasian Great Power is little more than an energy- and weapon-exporting nuclear-armed state with no other global significance. This notion was admittedly fueled by the fact that Russia’s budget has been hitherto disproportionately dependent on natural resource and weapons exports, hence why President Putin unveiled his country’s “Great Society“/”National Development Projects” a few years back in order to stimulate its economic systemic transition away from such a vulnerability. Progress on this front has been scarcely reported by the Mainstream Media if at all, but now all of a sudden everyone is forced to pay attention to its successes after Russia became the first country in the world to register a COVID-19 vaccine.
Putin’s Pride
President Putin made this announcement earlier in the week, which the author analyzed in his piece for CGTN about how “Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Is Impressive For Humanity“. Not only did the article laud the Kremlin for bringing hope to the world’s fearful masses (though whether or not they should truly be in a state of fear over the virus is a separate discussion), but it also pointed out that this game-changing scientific development speaks to the strength of the country’s scientific community that many observers had previously written off following the “brain drain” of the post-Soviet period. It also noted that this “politically inconvenient” fact will trigger the Mainstream Media into fearmongering about the safety and effectiveness of the “Sputnik V” vaccine in a desperate effort to secure their patron states’ future market shares in this multibillion-dollar business. Russia’s Western competitors are shocked that Moscow expects to control a full quarter of the expected $75 billion market for this vaccine after its UN Representative proudly proclaimed that his country is “ready for international cooperation with all interested partners in the development and production of vaccines and treatments”.
Shaping The Course Of World War C
The author previously wrote that “The Vaccine Race Is The Next Phase Of The COVID World Order“, which described the impact of this global competition on shaping the course of what he calls WorldWarC, or the full-spectrum paradigm-changing processes that were unleashed by the international community’s uncoordinated response to this pandemic. In accordance with the precepts first shared in Steven R. Mann’s 1992 article about “Chaos Theory And Strategy Thought“, the initial conditions at the onset of any complex process disproportionately affect the ultimate outcome. Considering the hyper-competitive context of World War C in which Russia just won the vaccine race, it naturally follows that this highly publicized development was a much-needed victory for the country in the sense that it could greatly inspire confidence in its ongoing economic systemic transition, thereby attracting more investment and opening up new export opportunities. Furthermore, it’ll likely make a lot of folks forget about the “gas station with nukes” stereotype after everyone’s talking about its “medical miracle” nowadays instead.
Russia’s RDIF vs. The US’ Gates Foundation
Not only could this accelerate the progress being made on its “Great Society”/”National Development Projects”, but it could also bring with it more prestige, profits, and ultimately even power if Russia plays its cards right. The first-mentioned of these three is due to it being the first in the world to unveil a COVID-19 vaccine, which could directly lead to more profits even if only from this single product’s eventual export worldwide. On the topic of power, this refers to how Russia could leverage its competitive edge in order to advance its national interests abroad, particularly when it comes to instrumentalizing its “medical diplomacy” as a means for strengthening its comprehensive relations with the dozens of countries that’ll purchase its product. Furthermore, the state-funded Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) that’s responsible for the country’s COVID-19 vaccine could emerge as a serious competitor to the privately owned Gates Foundation’s global influence campaign that its namesake oligarch is waging through his pernicious efforts to seize control of the world’s healthcare industry. The rapid emergence of a Russian rival could make it more difficult for the US’ plans to succeed.
Concluding Thoughts
World War C is still far from over, but Russia nevertheless won an important battle after coming out first in the vaccine race. This much-needed victory crucially enables it to shape the outcome of World War C by simultaneously stimulating its economic systemic transition, opening up new opportunities to advance its national interests through the inroads that it’s expected to make in dozens of countries via the vanguard of “medical diplomacy”, and confidently competing with the Gates Foundation for predominant influence over the global healthcare industry. It’s irrelevant whether or not one thinks that COVID-19 is so bad that it requires a vaccine in the first place or how they might feel about those treatments in general since the point to emphasize is that Russia’s vaccine will be used as a vehicle for maximizing its prestige, profit, and power across the world. The other countries developing their own vaccines would do the same considering that they’re all under the influence of the Hyper-Realist model of International Relations that characterizes the present day and drives them all to place their own interests over everything else. That doesn’t mean that Moscow isn’t sincere about its desire to save lives, but just that’ll it won’t pass up the chance to do much more than just that.
