The Club of Rome was created during the Cold War, and I will venture to suggest that one of the Club's tasks from the very beginning was the weakening and even destruction of the Soviet Union. In previous articles I wrote that the Club's highest goal was the conquest by the "masters of money" (who are also members of the Committee of 300) of world power and the establishment of a One World Government (OWG). This goal could in no way be realized while the USSR and the countries of the socialist camp were preserved, which in those distant times were economically, politically and militarily independent of the West.
Between the USA and its NATO allies, on the one hand, and the USSR with its allies in the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), on the other hand, an unspoken economic competition was taking place. The socialist camp in no way yielded to the West in the dynamics of economic development. There was even a certain increase in the share of the USSR and other socialist countries in world economic indicators.
So, if we use the GDP indicator, then in 1950 the Soviet economy amounted to 35.0% relative to the US economy. And in 1973 – already 42.8%. (V.M. Kudrov. The Economy of Russia in Europe and the World: Past, Present and Future. // Social Sciences and Modernity. 2011, No. 5).
Over the period 1950-1970, industrial production in the USA grew 2.2 times, in Great Britain – 1.8 times, in France – 3.1 times, in West Germany – 4.3 times. And in the Soviet Union – 6.9 times. ("Industry of the USSR". Statistical collection. M., 1971). Other socialist countries also demonstrated high dynamics of economic development. And the entire socialist camp as a whole. In the period 1951-1972, the average annual growth rates of industrial production in the countries of the socialist camp were 10.2% versus 5.2% in the economically developed capitalist countries. The share of socialist countries in world industrial production in the period 1960-1972 grew from 36.0 to 40.0%, while the share of economically developed capitalist countries declined from 56.5 to 51.6%. There was also a group of developing countries, whose share over the indicated period grew from 7.5 to 8.4%. (Capitalist and Developing Countries. Socio-economic reference book. – M.: Publishing House of Political Literature, 1973, p. 5).
By the way, I will say that today the international economic statistics of those post-war decades is being hidden in every way. For example, it is not in modern economics textbooks. It is hard to find even on the internet; only individual fragments are available. This is understandable. Those in power fear this statistics. For then the people will have questions: why did the USSR and the socialist countries, which had been defeating the West in economic competition, in the second half of the 80s suddenly begin to sharply lose their economic positions?
There are many reasons. One of them is the subversive activity of the West with respect to the Soviet Union and other countries of the socialist camp. And one of the instruments of such subversive activity became the Club of Rome.
The founder and first president of the Club of Rome, Aurelio Peccei (1908-1984), always showed an increased interest in our country. Even long before the Club arose.
Aurelio Peccei was born in Turin, where in 1930 he defended his dissertation. Curiously, the work was devoted to the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was carried out by the Bolsheviks in our country in the 1920s. After graduating from university he went on an educational trip to the Soviet Union, and then linked his life with the well-known automobile company "Fiat", including working in its representative offices in the USSR and China. In the 1960s he was one of the chief managers of this company. His managerial talent contributed to the firm's successful development.
Thanks to Peccei, the company "Fiat" managed to conclude a gigantic contract with the Soviet Union for the construction in our country of an automobile plant, which later received the name "AvtoVAZ".
It should be said that the idea of building a plant for the production of automobiles with the help of a Western firm had already occurred to N.S. Khrushchev, but he was inclined to choose the French company "Renault" (especially since under French President de Gaulle a rapprochement of the Soviet Union with that country had become apparent). Of course, the credit for Moscow's choice of the company "Fiat" belonged not only to the Italian Peccei. On our side there were also lobbyists for this option.
The key figure here was Dzhermen Mikhailovich Gvishiani. His name was known to a fairly narrow circle of people at that time. He was the son of an NKVD (later MGB) general, Mikhail Gvishiani. The general was an extraordinary figure. But I fear digressing from the main topic, so I omit a description of his biography. The main thing is that in life he turned out to be closely connected with Alexei Kosygin, who in the period 1943-1946 held the post of chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, and in 1964-1980 – chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In modern language, he was first the Russian, and later the all-Union premier.
The informal relations between the general and the premier led to the general's son, Jermen, becoming the son-in-law of Premier Kosygin, having married the latter's daughter Lyudmila. Jermen's career shot upward sharply. According to some accounts, he was a KGB general, but with a special status, enjoying the freedom to communicate with the top leaders of the party and state. He had informal relations with the head of the KGB, Yuri Andropov. Officially, he held the position of deputy chairman of the GKNT (USSR State Committee for Science and Technology). He also had an astonishingly great freedom of movement across the "Iron Curtain" (thanks to Andropov's patronage), which he actively made use of.
Abroad, he became acquainted with Peccei (who, I note, even before the founding of the Club of Rome, according to John Coleman, was already a member of the Committee of 300).
Omitting many details, I will say that it was precisely the tandem of Jermen Gvishiani and Aurelio Peccei that lobbied for the contract for the construction by the Fiat company of an automobile plant in Tolyatti.
On August 15, 1966, in Moscow, the head of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli, signed a contract with the USSR Minister of the Automotive Industry, A.M. Tarasov, for the creation of an automobile plant in the city of Tolyatti with a full production cycle. Under the contract, the same concern was also tasked with the technological equipping of the plant and the training of specialists.
Without going into details, I will clarify that this project punched a large hole in the Iron Curtain, through which the West began to carry out the decomposition of the Soviet Union. The Fiat firm was a kind of Trojan horse, and Peccei was merely an agent of the collective West, which waged the Cold War against the Soviet Union and sought its weakening and dismemberment.
To those who are interested in the details of this project to undermine the USSR, I recommend reading Alexander Khaldei's article "AvtoVAZ as a Symptom of the Beginning of the Death of the USSR."
I will cite just one quotation from the aforementioned article:
AvtoVAZ became that Trojan horse which destroyed the Soviet Troy. A channel of penetration into the USSR for those who became the architects of the present Russian elite.
By the way, they say that Peccei managed to impose on the Soviet Union not only the AvtoVAZ project, but also the project for the production of the American drink Pepsi-Cola (this happened later; the launch of production was timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympics here in 1980).
At some point Peccei let it slip, frankly declaring that "the countries of the socialist camp must be opened up like a tin can — with the help of a sharp can opener." It is projects like AvtoVAZ and Pepsi that act as such a "sharp can opener."
Having launched the Trojan horse codenamed "AvtoVAZ" into the Soviet Union, Peccei switched to preparing another project — the Club of Rome. After the founding meeting in April 1968 in Rome, Peccei began actively seeking opportunities to draw the Soviet Union into the Club.
John Coleman in his book "The Committee of 300" writes: "Peccei insisted that the Soviet Union should be offered 'rapprochement with NATO,' and that this rapprochement would culminate in equal partnership with the USA in the New World Order."
Peccei counted on the fact that surely someone in the Kremlin would swallow this "hook."
Recalling his meetings with Aurelio Peccei, Academician Gvishiani writes in his book "Bridges to the Future": "He constantly tried to convince me of the necessity of Soviet participation in the work of the Club of Rome. Fully agreeing with him, I thought with alarm about how difficult it would be for us to obtain an official decision on this matter. At first we agreed that I, even without formal decisions, since this is not an official organization but a club, would actively cooperate within the limits of my personal capabilities and the competence of the GKNT."
As a creative manager, Peccei began in every way to promote through the Club of Rome the so-called "systems analysis" (the term became very popular among the Soviet scientific intelligentsia; not a single book or even article could do without it; and for dissertations, a mention that the author had used "systems analysis" in his research became an unspoken imperative).
Peccei managed to convince everyone that without "systems analysis" the work of the Club of Rome would be ineffective. It ended with the birth in 1972 of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), which became an informal subsidiary structure of the club, registered in Austria.
As Peccei writes in his book "The Human Quality" (1977), "the choice was made in favor of the Laxenburg Castle near Vienna proposed by the Austrian government. This palace, built in the Baroque style at the end of the 18th century under Empress Maria Theresa, had formerly served as the summer residence and hunting lodge of the Habsburg family. Now, newly restored, it was ready to serve the lofty, future-oriented designs of the family of mankind. In 1972, a solemn assembly was held in London dedicated to the official creation of the institute."
The institute had a good budget, received commissions from the same Club of Rome, and invited scholars and experts from various countries of the world to its events. Jermen Mikhailovich Gvishiani visited the Institute near Vienna countless times. He would return to Moscow and convince the top leaders of the state of the necessity of close cooperation with IIASA.
Again, omitting many details, I will say that he managed to obtain support. And not only with regard to organizing trips for our scholars and specialists to Vienna. A decision was also adopted to create our own institute in the image and likeness of IIASA.
On June 4, 1976, the All-Union Scientific Research Institute for Systems Research (VNIISI) was born in the Soviet Union, which was under dual subordination (the State Committee of the USSR Council of Ministers for Science and Technology and the USSR Academy of Sciences).
As the newspapers of that time reported, the institute was created "for the comprehensive study of scientific, technical and socio-economic problems of great national economic importance and of an interdisciplinary nature of research." The institute was headed and invariably led for 17 years by Academician D.M. Gvishiani.
The newspapers said nothing about VNIISI's connection with IIASA. But everyone who came into contact with VNIISI (and I too had occasion to do so) knew perfectly well that VNIISI was a kind of branch or subsidiary structure of the institute located in Vienna.
From the vantage point of today one also understands that VNIISI was in fact a grandchild structure of the Club of Rome. Thus appeared yet another Trojan horse, launched by the West (with the active participation of the Club's president A. Peccei and the no less active assistance of Academician and KGB general Jermen Gvishiani).
VNIISI employees were constantly in Vienna, where they communicated very informally with their Western colleagues, among whom, as serious people understand, were those for whom "science," "forecasting," and "systems analysis" were merely routine words and a cover. Vienna has always been a place where the concentration of Western intelligence officers was high. One can only guess how high it was at IIASA. And member of the Committee of 300 and president of the Club of Rome A. Peccei used his "friend" Jermen to transmit through him "recommendations" on restructuring the USSR economy to the top Soviet leadership. I think that Gvishiani, first of all, conveyed the ideas of his Italian "colleague" to KGB chairman Yuri Andropov.
I will do without excessive political correctness and say that VNIISI became the place where the concentration of agents of influence who had undergone the necessary training turned out to be off the charts. VNIISI became an incubator from which hatched the "foremen of perestroika" (read: destroyers of the Soviet Union and its economy according to the plans of the Club of Rome), who took high posts in the state.
I will list some of them, the most important.
Gaidar Yegor Timurovich — worked at the institute from 1980 under the supervision of S.S. Shatalin. Was acting prime minister and minister of finance of the Russian Federation.
Shatalin Stanislav Sergeyevich — deputy director of the institute, adviser to USSR President Gorbachev, one of the co-authors of the "shock therapy" program that came to be called "500 Days."
Aven Petr Olegovich — worked in the same laboratory as Ye.T. Gaidar from 1981 to 1988. Then was sent to IIASA in Austria. Was minister of foreign economic relations in 1992. Currently one of the main shareholders of the Alfa group.
Zhukov Aleksandr Dmitriyevich — worked at the institute from 1978 to 1980. Was deputy prime minister in Fradkov's government.
Zurabov Mikhail Yuryevich — was a graduate student at the institute from 1978 to 1981. Was chairman of the pension fund and minister of health of the Russian Federation.
Danilov-Danilyan Viktor Ivanovich — worked at the institute from the day of its founding, head of a laboratory. Was minister of environmental protection and natural resources of the Russian Federation.
Lopukhin Vladimir Mikhailovich — worked at the institute from 1977. Was minister of fuel and energy of the Russian Federation.
There were other well-known VNIISI employees as well.
For example, Berezovsky Boris Abramovich. True, he was listed at the institute for only a short time. His main place of work was the Institute of Control Problems of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1970—1987). There, in the 80s, he was head of a laboratory, participated in many conferences and seminars of VNIISI, and also traveled to IIASA in Vienna.
In the lists of VNIISI employees we also find the well-known to all Nikolai Karlovich Svanidze; he did not become a minister, but as a TV presenter he became famous for his anti-Soviet and Russophobic statements.
It should also be kept in mind that some other USSR research institutes interacted closely with VNIISI. For example, the already mentioned Institute of Control Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Also the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences (CEMI). These institutes actively participated in certain joint projects that were supervised by the same Vienna-based IIASA. Incidentally, in 1982–1987 Aleksandr Nikolayevich Shokhin worked at CEMI as head of a laboratory; in the Russian Federation in 1991–1994 and in 1998 he held the post of deputy prime minister of the government, and since 2005 he has headed the RSPP.
The topic "The Club of Rome and Russia" is not limited, of course, to questions of VNIISI as a grandchild structure of the club, which actively participated in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the carrying out of "shock therapy" in the economy of the Russian Federation. Other channels of influence were used as well.
For example, certain of our figures in science and government who were obligingly offered the honorary title "member of the Club." At various times, full members of the Club were RAS academicians D.M. Gvishiani, Ye.K. Fedorov, Ye.M. Primakov, A.A. Logunov, V.A. Sadovnichy, professor S.P. Kapitsa, and writer Ch.T. Aitmatov. Honorary members were M.S. Gorbachev and B.Ye. Paton. By the way, Ye.M. Primakov ended up in this circle not by chance. The fact is that he was married to the sister of Jermen Mikhailovich. General Gvishiani helped Yevgeny Maksimovich climb the career ladder in every way. The Club of Rome was an important springboard for him; thanks to the club, Primakov became well known abroad.
The topic "M.S. Gorbachev and the Club of Rome" deserves special discussion. Perhaps I will get around to writing an article on this topic.
In conclusion I will name one more channel through which the Club of Rome exerted and continues to exert a destructive effect on our state.
In 1989, an Association for the Promotion of the Club of Rome was created in the USSR. After 1991 it was reformed into the Russian Association for the Promotion of the Club of Rome and operates under the auspices of the Foundation for the Support of Advanced Research. Such associations exist today in 35 states and jurisdictions. Their main task is to propagandize the ideas of the Club of Rome locally.
Let me remind you once again that the ideology of the Club of Rome pursues the following main goals: reduction of population in individual countries and on the planet as a whole; deindustrialization of the world economy; erosion and destruction of the national sovereignty of states; globalization and advancement of the interests of transnational corporations in the world; establishment of a Single World Government.
Valentin Katasonov