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"
You have a very Western centric view of the world... "

Why thank you.

I grew up in the middle of the Cold War. The Soviets and the Red Chinese were the enemy. When Richard Nixon opened up China to split it away from the Soviet Union in the early 1970s there was hope that China would over time change into a Democracy and a friend, the way Japan did after WW2. China and Russia are not natural friends. Nixon took advantage of Chinese antagonism towards the Soviets at being treated as very junior partners.

While China has progressed amazingly economically, it is still largely Maoist in every other sense, and is thus just as much the enemy of my Country as Russia is. Neither the governments of Russia nor China trust their citizens enough to give up their monopoly of power, and they sure will never grant them the protections that the US Constitution grants it's citizens from the tyranny of bureaucratic whims.

Come on you know it doesn't work that way. Each agricultural and for that matter industrial country runs surpluses in certain items, sells the rest on the world market, and uses that money to buy what it needs and wants from it's trading partners.

I am guessing that much of Russian grain is geared toward to export. Diverting that to domestic markets is not always simple, but okay. Russia is experiencing sugar shortages, even though Russia has invested $ Billions in their inefficient sugar beet industry. Even though overall Russian sugar production and stockpiles should be sufficient to keep supermarket shelves full, the supply chain dislocations caused by Putin's war and Western sanctions, means they aren't full.

Hoarding of what ever food and goods they can get is a logical response from ordinary Russian Citizens, who don't have a lot of options in dealing with their government and it's control over their lives. You may be able to trade sugar and flour later on for other goods you can't get right now, so again hoarding is a good survival strategy for people who don't know when the store shelves will be full again.

Russia may be able to produce bulk wheat and sugar, but it relies on the West for things like Insulin and specialized baby formula for those with health issues. Those shelves are increasingly empty. If a lowly citizen happens upon a lucky supply of some scarce item, he will buy as much as he can even if he has no immediate need for it, which further aggravates the shortages.

Russia is going back to the old Soviet economy. Ordinary Russians will have to relearn how to navigate the market inefficiencies inherent in that reality.

For nearly a month, Vladimir Putin has delivered a daily masterclass in incompetence and brutality. The ex-KGB spymaster and world-class kleptocrat was the guy Donald Trump wanted to be. Just weeks ago, the former president lavished praise on his idol and derided Nato as “not so smart”.

How’s that working out, Donald?

The world cheers for Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Ukraine, his besieged country. Russia’s economy is on its knees, its stock market shuttered, its shelves bare. The rouble is worth less than a penny. The west is not as decadent or as flaccid as the tyrant-in-the-Kremlin and President Bone-Spurs bet.

Example of the futility of "economic sanctions" and how the Biden Administration is hastening the demise of the US Petrodollar!

"The state-run Indian Oil Corp. bought 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia earlier this week to secure its energy needs, resisting Western pressure to avoid such purchases, an Indian government official said Friday.

The official said India has not imposed sanctions against buying oil and will be looking to purchase more from Russia despite calls not to from the U.S. and other countries. ....

https://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2022/03/india-buys-russian-oil-derailing-bidens-sanctions-war-3769541.html

Lawmakers reject Russian official's request to return Alaska: 'Never, ever, ever'

https://www.bing.com/search?q=russiawantsalaskaback&cvid=b913fc9cccaa4eb8b384018c245d0faa&aqs=edge..69i57j0l2.6719j0j4&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS

Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY - Yesterday 2:52 PM

Alaska lawmakers are assuring a Russian official who said the U.S. should return Alaska and other areas to Russia that it's just not happening.

Russian parliament member Oleg Matveychev on a TV program addressed waves of sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, saying leaders should “think about r********ns.”

“The harm these sanctions caused us cost money. Return of possessions, including possessions of the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and even parts of Russia that are now occupied by the United States,” Matveychev said on Sunday, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

The host of the show asked Matveychev about the return of Alaska and Fort Ross, which was established by Russians in California, according to the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

“This is my next point – recognizing Alaska, Fort Ross and Antarctica,” Matveychev responded, according to the Anchorage Daily News. “We actually discovered it, so it rightfully belongs to us.”

The United States reached an agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in 1867. Alaska was admitted as a state in 1959.

Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski balked at the statement, tweeting coverage of the comments and a gif of Taylor Swift with the caption “That will never, ever, ever happen!”

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy also responded to the comments, tweeting “Good luck with that!”

“Not if we have something to say about it. We have hundreds of thousands of armed Alaskans and military members that will see it differently,” he added.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawmakers reject Russian official's request to return Alaska: 'Never, ever, ever'