Translations:Zlata eRA Folge 40 DAS NEUE ZEITALTER – Neue Hoffnung für Griechenland und der Weg der internationalen Zusammenarbeit; 9.8.2026/10/en

[ 01:31:29 ] This is a question that cannot be resolved with a single political statement. The third piece of the puzzle is the people in power. And here we come to specific names. Recently—someone, within the last month—we’ve been looking into the truth behind these connections and have begun publishing a series of articles about the people who occupy the highest echelons of power in Russia. People like Tatiana Golikova, Viktor Christenko, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Nikolai Kolesov—as well as others, of course—have long been present in the Russian public sphere. Each of them operates in a different sphere: politics, government, industry, and state-owned corporations. And this is precisely where we need to realize one thing. Power isn’t just the person sitting in the presidential palace. Power is an entire network. One person makes decisions; another runs a large company; a third controls a state institution; a fourth influences public opinion; and a fifth controls the money. When these worlds intersect, a power system emerges. That’s why it’s not enough to just pay attention to what the president says; you also have to keep an eye on who controls energy, industry, banks, the media, and government contracts. The fourth piece of the puzzle is: war. This is the foundation, and here the whole picture becomes even more complicated. For the average person, war means, above all, fear. A son may go to the front, a father may not return, a family may lose their home, a young person may end up in the hospital—and that is the reality of war. Unfortunately, there is also a second reality: for some, war means massive public budgets, weapons, ammunition, tanks, airplanes, drones, uniforms, fuel, spare parts, logistics, and repairs.

[ 01:33:38 ] And someone manufactures all of this, and someone sells it. That’s why war isn’t just about the army. It’s also a matter of money. And once we understand this, we’ll also begin to understand why there are enormous economic interests at stake in every war. That doesn’t automatically mean that everyone who profits from the supplies actually wants that war. Right? But it does mean one very important thing. War generates a massive flow of money. And where huge amounts of money flow, there must also be control. Piátik úszok, skaracke! Ukraine. Billions of euros and dollars are pouring into the country from abroad. Part of it is military aid, part is financial aid, part is cash, and part is humanitarian food aid and development programs. Now let’s imagine an ordinary person. Right. Well, okay, so I’m sending billions—who’s keeping track of where it’s going? That’s a completely legitimate question. Not because aid shouldn’t exist, but because the more money the system receives, the greater the oversight must be. If you lend your neighbor 100 euros, for example, you might simply trust him to pay you back. But if you send him 100 billion, you’ll want to see the receipts. That’s exactly how one should look at public funds—not emotionally, but simply: How much went out? Where? How? That’s it. And what did society get in return? The sixth piece of the puzzle is corruption. The basics. Corruption isn’t just some abstract word—it’s a very simple thing. It’s someone—or we can define it as someone who is supposed to make decisions about public funds.

[ 01:35:36 ] And someone will try to pocket that money for themselves. If that happens, the money that was supposed to go, for example, to a hospital, roads, schools, defense, or some other public service ends up somewhere else. And who ends up footing the bill? The taxpayer. That’s why corruption is so dangerous. Not because a number gets lost in the books, but because trust is lost. People then ask themselves: “Why should I pay taxes?” “Why should I follow the rules when I can’t trust politicians?” And at that moment, the system begins to crack. The seventh piece of the puzzle. A very, very important one. The media must ask one very simple question: Who explains to us what’s happening? When an event occurs, most people aren’t there in person. Those who aren’t there in person don’t know what happened. People only see the screen, read the headline, listen to the commentator—and that’s how they form their opinion. That’s why the media wields such enormous power. In Russia, specifically, one of the most famous propaganda and political commentators is Vladimir Solovyov. In the West, on the other hand, there is a vast number of major television networks, newspapers, news agencies, and digital platforms. And yet the problem is simple. When someone shows you only one part of the story, you can end up with a completely different picture of reality. That’s why it’s more important today than ever before to consult multiple sources.

[ 01:37:25 ] Not so that we automatically distrust everything, but so that we can compare what people show us and what they don’t show us. In the world of global finance, where money knows no borders, we can mention names like BlackRock and Vanguard—and more and more people are becoming familiar with these names. These are massive investment firms that manage and have managed assets worth millions of dollars. What does this mean for the average person? Imagine that you have money and use it to own small stakes in hundreds of large companies. Such an investor doesn’t need to own the entire company; it’s enough to hold a significant stake. And when investment firms like these hold stakes in a vast number of companies, a massive concentration of financial power emerges. Of course, this doesn’t mean that someone is secretly controlling the whole world, but it does mean that financial capital has an enormous capacity to distort the economy. And that is a fact worth noting. Part Nine. Why Is Everything So Expensive? Now let’s connect all these topics to our own wallets. Why is energy so expensive? Because energy costs money. But the price isn’t just the price of oil or gas. There’s transportation, processing, taxes, distribution, and markups. Political decisions and international conflicts. And when something changes significantly somewhere in this chain, the bill can end up on your doorstep. This certainly applies to our daily sustenance—to what we commonly call “food.” A baker doesn’t just make bread out of flour.

[ 01:39:14 ] It requires energy, transportation, packaging, machinery, and, of course, employees. And when the cost of energy, transportation, or raw materials goes up, you see the result in stores. So… The geopolitics you see on TV ultimately ends up at the checkout counter—whether it’s at a supermarket or some other store. And this is precisely one of the most important connections. The tenth piece of the puzzle. Why aren’t people afraid? Now let’s imagine an ordinary family. The parents work, pay taxes, pay a mortgage or rent, buy groceries, pay their utility bills—and then they see that some people own assets worth hundreds of millions or billions. What happens? A sense of injustice arises, and when this feeling persists long enough, so-called “political anger” emerges. People start looking for someone to blame. Some will point to the government, others to the oligarchs, others to the banks, still others to migrants, some to Brussels, others to Washington, and yet others to Moscow—and yet the real problem may be much more complex. The economy isn’t a single entity; it’s a system of interconnected decisions, and each of us is a piece of that puzzle. Why is it important to know the names? Because it’s very easy to criticize an anonymous system, but when we know specific names and specific companies, we begin to see the entire structure. Igor Sechin, Rosneft. Alexei Miller, Gazprom. Nikola Kolesov, Russian Helicopters. Vladimir Solovyov, the Russian media landscape. Vyacheslav Volodin, Russian politics. Vladimir Putin, the pinnacle of Russian state power.

[ 01:41:10 ] And then there’s the global financial world—BlackRock, Vanguard. Each of these names represents a different part of the system: energy, industry, politics, media, finance. And when we start looking at them together, we get a much clearer picture of the world. Piece 12 of the puzzle: Where does the ordinary person fit into this? This is perhaps the most important question. Where does the ordinary person fit into this entire system? He isn’t on the board of Rocnevci; he isn’t at Gazprom. He doesn’t run BlackRock; he doesn’t run Vanguard; he doesn’t sit in the Kremlin. He isn’t a member of the government; he isn’t a general; he isn’t an oligarch—but he pays. He pays taxes; he pays for energy; he pays for groceries; he pays for housing. And when a crisis hits, he pays for it all over again. When inflation strikes, he pays for it through higher prices. And that’s war, too. He might pay for it with his son’s life. When an economic crisis hits, he might lose his job. That’s why the public is increasingly interested in what goes on in the highest echelons at night. Not out of curiosity, but because the decisions made by these people ultimately reach our homes. And that’s the conclusion—the puzzle is complete. So let’s put it all together one more time. Europe brings money; money brings power; power determines policy; policy determines budgets; budgets finance the state, the military, and major projects. That war generates a massive flow of money. The media explain to the public what’s happening, and financial companies manage enormous amounts of capital. And the ordinary person—he stands at the end of the entire chain. And he foots the bill.

[ 01:43:06 ] That’s why it’s not enough to just watch a single news report; you have to ask: Who to whom? How much? For what? And what’s in it for the average person? That’s perhaps the simplest way to put things into context. For example, when you hear a news story about Ropa, think about money. When you hear a news story about war, think about budgets as well. And when you hear a news story about billions in aid, think about oversight. When you hear a news story about corruption, think about who’s missing out on money. When you hear a political speech, look at what’s happening behind the words. And when you hear that everything is fine, keep an eye on your own wallet. Because sometimes a very simple question is enough: Who’s profiting from this? Who’s making the decisions? And who will ultimately pay for it? That’s where the connections begin. This was “Tik-Tak: The Truth in Context,” and today—not some ready-made answers, but questions worth asking. Thank you. Well then, Nora, that was… Exhausting? I don’t mean in the sense that it exhausted me, but actually, it was a kind of comprehensive overview that will hopefully help people piece together all the intricacies of world politics and those power structures. So thanks for your comprehensive perspective—one we haven’t had here yet. Thank you.