We have a powerful group of opinion leaders who believe that lifting sanctions would be disastrous. Because liberal-leaning officials would immediately try to roll back all the achievements in import substitution, in asserting the sovereignty of our economy and production, in ensuring security in those areas that are vital to the development of the state.

— Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Sergey Lavrov has essentially acknowledged what many experts, including myself, have written about for years: that in Russia there exists an entire class of officials left over from the 1990s who do not share the head of state’s orientation towards strengthening sovereignty. They dream of once again making Russia a part of the global world — a world that no longer exists. This is their phantom pain, but because of it, they take an entirely destructive stance, obstructing the process of sovereignization in all areas.

These stubborn individuals no longer merely want to reshape our economic system to fit the West. While formally maintaining loyalty to President Putin and nodding along with everything he says, they are in fact trying to destroy what has been built, acting in defiance of Russia’s interests. And this is precisely what Lavrov pointed out, referring to opinion leaders — something that already means a great deal.

In reality, contrary to the illusions of the so-called “sixth column,”¹ relations between Russia and the West are not improving at all. Yes, there are very cautious steps towards de-escalation with the United States, but Europe, on the contrary, is preparing for war with us. Therefore, our duty — our direct obligation — is to ensure the economic sovereignty of the country. Yet liberal-leaning officials are obstructing this effort.

Liberal ideology itself has already been effectively criminalized in our country. Imagine replacing the word “liberal” in Lavrov’s statement with “Nazi”: in Russia, some officials with Nazi views sympathize with Hitler and do not want to strengthen our national security because they believe things were better under Hitler’s occupation. We would be horrified by such a statement. And yet today, liberalism is practically a synonym for a new form of Western hegemony, racism, and Russophobia. Therefore, to be a liberal in Russia is simply an ideological crime. The foreign minister has, in fact, admitted that such people exist in Russia. And he was almost certainly referring to specific officials — not marginal figures with no influence.

Today, this sixth column is rejoicing over the warming of our relations with Trump. But not in order to strengthen our position — rather, to derail as quickly as possible all the progress Russia has made on the path of sovereignization since the beginning of the Special Military Operation. And this is outright sabotage — treason, betrayal, a revolt, a mutiny of liberal officials. And since even such a cautious, precise, and restrained diplomat has mentioned them in his remarks, it means the situation is extremely serious.

I believe Sergey Lavrov — who stands on the same level as the greatest foreign ministers in the history of our great nation — should be trusted. There truly exists within the country a core force working against President Putin’s sovereign reforms. The sixth column is a threat of conspiracy, essentially of a coup d’état, because the attempt to roll back the achievements in import substitution and economic sovereignization — on which the development and security of our state depend — is nothing less than that. And this is very serious.

1. Translator’s note: The term “sixth column” is a contemporary Russian concept denoting a more insidious form of internal subversion than the traditional “fifth column.” While the fifth column refers to overt liberals, pro-Western activists, and opposition figures openly hostile to the state, the sixth column designates those who outwardly demonstrate loyalty to the Russian leadership — particularly to President Putin — yet covertly act to undermine the country’s sovereign and anti-globalist trajectory. They present themselves as patriots while advancing liberal-globalist objectives from within.