Glazyev et al. Form Discussion Group for Ukraine’s Recovery

May 1—Sergei Glazyev, the diplomat and economist who has advised Russian President Vladimir Putin and who was appointed on April 17 as State Secretary of the Russia-Belarus Union State, addressed the mission of his newly formed Club of People’s Unity. The club was founded alongside his two co-chairs: Mykola Azarov, former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2010–14), and Alexander Kazakov, former advisor to the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Glazyev emphasized the importance of recalling the shared heroic past of Ukraine and Russia, so their fellow citizens could envision a united future. He considers the current model of the Union State optimal and expressed hope that, after its present trials, Ukraine will return to the common Slavic family. “The Union State is an excellent model of how it is possible, while preserving state sovereignty, to live, in fact, in one country, with equal rights, equal opportunities—to use the common economic, socio-cultural space,” he stated. Glazyev delivered these remarks in Minsk on April 26 while answering journalists' questions.

Glazyev is currently regarded as the world's leading proponent of physical economics, a school of thought based on the creation of tangible wealth rather than monetary and financial values. His approach aligns with the American System of Physical Economy, championed by figures such as Alexander Hamilton, Matthew and Henry C. Carey, Abraham Lincoln, and the late Lyndon LaRouche—whom Glazyev eulogized and called his mentor. Born in Ukraine, Glazyev has worked in Ukraine on behalf of Putin. Sources suggest he will likely play a key role in shaping Russia’s post-war policy in Ukraine, both in reconstructing the Russian-held regions and influencing the country at large. His remarks were directed at this future.

Glazyev added: “When I was born in the city of Zaporozhye, we had no separation by nationality [ethnicity]. We all felt like residents of the same country. Most of my classmates moved to Moscow and other Russian cities.” He believes that, despite current geopolitical realities, Ukraine could eventually have the option of joining the Union State.

On April 25, Kazakov appeared on Crimea 24, explaining that the Club of People’s Unity was created to facilitate expert discussion on how best to ensure Ukraine’s healthy future. As quoted by PolitNavigator, he stated: “Task number one is to develop some kind of social basis, conceptual basis, to answer the question of what is to be done. We have posed this question ourselves a thousand times…. We understand that the population is sick; they need to be treated. It may sound insulting, but patients get offended too; that’s the way things are.

“There are several important introductory points: we are not talking about the territorial division, in the future, of the former Ukrainian S.S.R. We, that is, are developing our plans and concepts under conditions where the future is uncertain. We don’t know which territories will be ours, which will remain independent. This dynamic is changing daily. I think nobody has an answer to that question.”

Kazakov was also asked about a possible role for Azarov in Ukraine—something PolitNavigator reported as a topic of speculation among European media. He responded: “The European sources that leaked this information were, at the very least, eavesdropping on us. Since, in relation to that part of the former Ukrainian S.S.R. that will not become part of Russia—Azarov, Glazyev, I, and our other colleagues understand—what will happen there: the coming years will be terrible.

“So that they don’t turn into a pan-European catastrophe, a territory of armed chaos, a war of ‘all against all,’ Russia and the U.S., the curators and sponsors, must be involved. Our Club of People’s Unity needs to gather the intellectual elite to jointly find solutions to seemingly insoluble issues and tasks related to the former Ukrainian S.S.R.

“We proceed from what our president proceeds from—this is a fraternal people. The presence of Sergei Glazyev among the chairmen indicates one of the possible ways—in the end, the Union State may become larger. The tasks are clear to us, but it is very difficult to implement ideas even in Russia—society is red-hot with anger over these years, and no one is making an effort to reduce the boiling point.

“But we do not want to solve such historical challenges when they have already arrived—we want to prepare for them in advance.”