https://sputniknews.in/20260630/the-art-of-being-sovereign-11555027.html
The Art of Being Sovereign
The Art of Being Sovereign
Sputnik India
Russia has confirmed its status of one of the world’s really sovereign nations: such were most of local comments to the final test of a 100%-Russian-made... 30.06.2026, Sputnik India
2026-06-30T14:24+0530
2026-06-30T14:24+0530
2026-07-07T14:26+0530
sputnik opinion
russia
europe
us
european union (eu)
vladimir putin
artificial intelligence (ai)
germany
sergey lavrov
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In fact, that plane has been carrying passengers for quite a while, but the official procedures demand the physical proof and confirmation of early service record for a kind of a final cut for all the documents listing the liner’s specifications.So we have it now. The new liner is confirmed as being capable of covering the distance of 3800 kilometers, carrying 175 passengers. It means that Russia can now take charge of 90 per cent of domestic non-stop flights across its vast spaces.That was a long story, the creation of a totally local-made passenger plane amidst Western sanctions, that aimed, among other things, at depriving Russia of all these Boeings and Airbuses. Russia has been making civilian liners for decades in the previous century, but in the new age there was that problem of modern engines. The first version of MC-21 was supposed to carry engines from abroad. Then sanctions came in, together with the idea of regaining the national ability of making engines of our own. Import substitution has become a political goal in many fields, airliners production included. That goal has been finally reached. Russia is now a nation producing its own civilian plane bodies and engines for (relatively) long-haul flights, which is a rare distinction in this world of ours.So we see that there is such a thing as airliners sovereignty, right? You really cannot imagine a global power worth of that name, being suddenly deprived of using its own sky. There are very few nations in this world capable of being independent to that degree, but still, several of these can do it.Now, is there such a thing as energy sovereignty? Again, not many can boast of such privilege. Europe most certainly is not very sovereign in that field. You just have to look at what happened, this week, in that glorious Western alliance. Here comes a quote: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned the European Union that US gas supplies will head elsewhere if the bloc refuses to ease regulations to tackle methane, a potent greenhouse gas.His comments came after EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen vowed to resist pressure from the US and other exporters of liquefied natural gas to revise its rules to curb methane emissions. The US had warned the bloc that the rule’s complexity and prospect of fines would jeopardize trade.End of quote. Witty fellows, these Americans are, aren’t they? But they do not have a wit monopoly, and you can only imagine dirty jokes on that matter, emanating from Russia. And then, life can be more funny than any clown.Last week Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, has told the public about a plan of America’s buying out the North Stream gas pipeline, previously exploded by Ukrainian terrorists to deprive Europe of Russian gas. The big idea was to make Europe independent of Russian supplies so as to step up European military actions against Moscow, mostly on Ukrainian territory. As a result, European industries and social services crumbled down without stable supplies of gas, priced nicely. And now we discover that these funny Americans are going to supply Europe with the same Russian gas via the same pipeline, but, maybe, at somewhat different price. Or else that “energy will flow somewhere else”.Says Sergei Savchuk, this agency’s columnist: you watch what the German opposition, as well as other European oppositionists, are saying. They want the North Stream and Russia back to Europe and into business. You may even say that pipeline is the best indicator for future peace settlement. You cannot imagine the North Stream revival without a total reset of European security, that’s true, but a reset is what happens when a crisis is as deep as it is now. You just have to change the bankrupt political elites in Europe, and so North Stream becomes a bridge to peace, and European business becomes the best lobby for change.All right, how many other sovereignties are there? Here comes another quote, a long one, emanating from India.The global order, says the firstpost.com author, is moving into a phase where technology, energy and critical minerals are no longer neutral instruments of growth, but tools of geopolitical leverage… artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being treated as controlled infrastructure rather than open commercial technology…This immediately raises concerns about India’s AI sovereignty.That’s it, my friends. “India’s AI sovereignty” were the words that made me count all these different sovereignties all around, and then the news about the MC-21 came in.But, to go on with the quote, if access to frontier models, APIs, or compute systems can be restricted on the basis of nationality or geopolitical alignment, then India’s dependence on foreign AI ecosystems becomes a structural vulnerability rather than a temporary gap… The reality is that no major power can afford to be structurally dependent in such a tightly interlinked global system. Whether it is the United States or China, both have demonstrated the ability to influence or restrict access to critical technologies and materials. This makes supply chain dominance a form of strategic power.And, finally, says our opinion column: in a world where supply chains, AI systems, energy flows and critical minerals are increasingly weaponised or controlled, internal resilience is not optional. It is essential for strategic survival and sustained growth.Looks like the writer quoted, Mr. Mohandas Pai of Infosys and Aarin Capital, is absolutely right, and “no major power” may hope to go on being a power without carefully mastering the art of being sovereign.Now imagine a world where everyone builds up such fortresses against everyone else. The problem with that world will be, nobody will like it. And when everyone is unhappy about things, these things change. Just like they may change in Europe, deprived of energy sovereignty.Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
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russia, europe, us, european union (eu), vladimir putin, artificial intelligence (ai), germany, sergey lavrov
russia, europe, us, european union (eu), vladimir putin, artificial intelligence (ai), germany, sergey lavrov
The Art of Being Sovereign
14:24 30.06.2026 (Updated: 14:26 07.07.2026) Russia has confirmed its status of one of the world’s really sovereign nations: such were most of local comments to the final test of a 100%-Russian-made airliner, MC-21.
In fact, that plane has been carrying passengers for quite a while, but the official procedures demand the physical proof and confirmation of early service record for a kind of a final cut for all the documents listing the liner’s specifications.
So we have it now. The new liner is confirmed as being capable of covering the distance of 3800 kilometers, carrying 175 passengers. It means that Russia can now take charge of 90 per cent of domestic non-stop flights across its vast spaces.
That was a long story, the creation of a totally local-made passenger plane amidst Western sanctions, that aimed, among other things, at depriving Russia of all these Boeings and Airbuses. Russia has been making civilian liners for decades in the previous century, but in the new age there was that problem of modern engines. The first version of MC-21 was supposed to carry engines from abroad. Then sanctions came in, together with the idea of regaining the national ability of making engines of our own. Import substitution has become a political goal in many fields, airliners production included. That goal has been finally reached. Russia is now a nation producing its own civilian plane bodies and engines for (relatively) long-haul flights, which is a rare distinction in this world of ours.
So we see that there is such a thing as airliners sovereignty, right? You really cannot imagine a global power worth of that name, being suddenly deprived of using its own sky. There are very few nations in this world capable of being independent to that degree, but still, several of these can do it.
Now, is there such a thing as energy sovereignty? Again, not many can boast of such privilege. Europe most certainly is not very sovereign in that field. You just have to look at what happened, this week, in that glorious Western alliance. Here comes a
quote: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned the European Union that US gas supplies will head elsewhere if the bloc refuses to ease regulations to tackle methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
“Without a meaningful reform of that rule, it is going to cause serious pain into Europe and that’s unnecessary,” Wright told Bloomberg on the sidelines of a conference in New York. “It’s not a matter of escalation. Our energy will flow. It’ll just flow somewhere else.”
His comments came after EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen vowed to resist pressure from the US and other exporters of liquefied natural gas to revise its rules to curb methane emissions. The US had warned the bloc that the rule’s complexity and prospect of fines would jeopardize trade.
End of quote. Witty fellows, these Americans are, aren’t they? But they do not have a wit monopoly, and you can only imagine dirty jokes on that matter, emanating from Russia. And then, life can be more funny than any clown.
Last week Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, has told the public about a plan of America’s buying out the North Stream gas pipeline, previously exploded by Ukrainian terrorists to deprive Europe of Russian gas. The big idea was to make Europe independent of Russian supplies so as to step up European military actions against Moscow, mostly on Ukrainian territory. As a result, European industries and social services crumbled down without stable supplies of gas, priced nicely. And now we discover that these funny Americans are going to supply Europe with the same Russian gas via the same pipeline, but, maybe, at somewhat different price. Or else that “energy will flow somewhere else”.
Says Sergei Savchuk, this agency’s columnist: you watch what the German opposition, as well as other European oppositionists, are saying. They want the North Stream and Russia back to Europe and into business. You may even say that pipeline is the best indicator for future peace settlement. You cannot imagine the North Stream revival without a total reset of European security, that’s true, but a reset is what happens when a crisis is as deep as it is now. You just have to change the bankrupt political elites in Europe, and so North Stream becomes a bridge to peace, and European business becomes the best lobby for change.
All right, how many other sovereignties are there? Here comes another quote, a long one, emanating from India.
The global order,
says the firstpost.com author, is moving into a phase where technology, energy and critical minerals are no longer neutral instruments of growth, but tools of geopolitical leverage… artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being treated as controlled infrastructure rather than open commercial technology…This immediately raises concerns about India’s AI sovereignty.
That’s it, my friends. “India’s AI sovereignty” were the words that made me count all these different sovereignties all around, and then the news about the MC-21 came in.
But, to go on with the quote, if access to frontier models, APIs, or compute systems can be restricted on the basis of nationality or geopolitical alignment, then India’s dependence on foreign AI ecosystems becomes a structural vulnerability rather than a temporary gap… The reality is that no major power can afford to be structurally dependent in such a tightly interlinked global system. Whether it is the United States or China, both have demonstrated the ability to influence or restrict access to critical technologies and materials. This makes supply chain dominance a form of strategic power.
And, finally, says our opinion column: in a world where supply chains, AI systems, energy flows and critical minerals are increasingly weaponised or controlled, internal resilience is not optional. It is essential for strategic survival and sustained growth.
Looks like the writer quoted, Mr. Mohandas Pai of Infosys and Aarin Capital, is absolutely right, and “no major power” may hope to go on being a power without carefully mastering the art of being sovereign.
Now imagine a world where everyone builds up such fortresses against everyone else. The problem with that world will be, nobody will like it. And when everyone is unhappy about things, these things change. Just like they may change in Europe, deprived of energy sovereignty.
Dmitry Kosyrev is a Russian writer, author of spy novels and short stories. He also did columns for the Pioneer and Firstpost.com
