How Zelensky Convinced Trump That Russia's Economy Was On The Verge Of Collapse
- 30.09.2025, 13:27
Economist's Opinion.
Vyacheslav Shiryaev, a Russian opposition economic observer, explained to NV what ghosts of the past influenced the American president in his assessment of the state of affairs in Russia.
American President Donald Trump dramatically changed his view of the prospects for the Russian economy after seeing pictures of gas station queues in Russia. It was visual images of the collapse, not abstract financial indicators, that became a key factor in the White House host's rethinking of the real state of affairs in Putin's state.
This opinion was expressed in a conversation with NV by Russian economic observer Vyacheslav Shiryaev, who was recognized by the Kremlin as a so-called "foreign agent" this year.
According to the expert, for a person who grew up in the United States and did business in New York, where a square meter costs $10-20 thousand and salaries reach $5-10 thousand, it is extremely difficult to imagine Russia's real poverty. A country with huge deposits, exporting oil, gas and metals, in Trump's mind should have been a successful state.
"He is having great difficulty overcoming his false perceptions and going for true ideas about Putin's economic situation. And right now, visual cues are very important to him. The more pictures he sees, the better he understands what's going on," Shiryaev explained.
The lines at gas stations have become a particularly powerful marker for Trump because of personal memories of the late 1970s. Back then, during the oil crisis, when Arab countries declared a boycott of the West's oil trade during the Arab-Israeli war, huge lines lined up outside American gas stations. And so in Trump's imagination, such queues symbolize a large-scale catastrophe and economic collapse.
In Shiryaev's opinion, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky used exactly visual materials - maps, photos, visual evidence - during his last visit to the White House, understanding how to find the most effective approach to Trump. And it is not by chance that the American president in his social network Truth Social speaks precisely about the long lines at gas stations. He also called the Russian Federation a "paper tiger."
"For Trump, as a developer, the signs of economic collapse are empty business centers with boarded-up windows, some images that give him the exact idea that everything: now this country [the Russian Federation] is a colossus on clay feet," the expert noted.
"In Trump's view, the collision with this reality has finally happened: Russia is weak, Russia is not pulling through, and Russia can lose.", the economic observer summarized.