The deputy chairman of Russia’s State Duma, Boris Chernyshov, released a memo that had not been made public before. The document is tied to Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the controversial founder of the Liberal Democratic Party, and it contains a strategy that centers on moving away from the use of the US dollar. The newly surfaced note circulated via a Telegram channel associated with a deputy, drawing attention to its contents and potential implications for international trade and currency policy.
The memo is described as dating back to 2018, a period when the ruble faced significant pressure and the exchange rate against the dollar rose quickly. In that year, the dollar’s value climbed from roughly 56.7 rubles in January to about 66 rubles by August, a shift that amplified discussions about currency resilience and the need for diversification in settlement currencies among major economies. The vice chairman of the Duma acknowledged that, given past trends, the recommendations in the note could resonate with contexts where currency risk was mounting. The assessment reflects a broader debate about how nations can reduce exposure to unilateral economic pressures from a single reserve currency.
The memo outlines a step-by-step plan. The first move, according to Zhirinovsky’s text, is to abandon the US dollar as a vehicle for trade and financial transactions. The second step envisions dismantling certain international organizations that rely on dollar-based frameworks. The note proposes that each region develop its own governance structure to handle trade and economic policy more autonomously, suggesting a shift toward regional systems rather than global, dollar-dominated mechanisms. The author contemplated the creation of regional blocs that mirror historic or evolving international alignments, with the aim of fostering financial autonomy and resilience.
Specific examples in the document hint at a future in which Europe would rely on a regional organization comparable to historic bodies, while similar arrangements might emerge in the Americas and Africa. The text mentions reorganizing or replacing traditional international institutions with regionally tailored counterparts. The third proposed step involves converting nations to their own currencies and languages for internal and external communications, which would reduce reliance on a common foreign currency for cross-border dealings and enhance sovereignty over monetary policy and cultural branding.
As described by Chernyshov, the current situation appears to echo the memo’s forecasts in some respects. Moscow has reportedly shown signs of diminishing its dependence on the dollar, and participants in the Russian political sphere have pointed to a growing array of trade alternatives that do not depend on dollar-denominated settlement. The broader commentary notes that a number of major economies have advanced plans or experiments with local-currency arrangements for trade, aiming to increase resilience amid geopolitical tensions, sanctions, and shifting global demand patterns. Observers highlight the possibility that trusted regional payment systems and currency corridors could emerge as complements or substitutes for dollar-based arrangements, reducing exposure to currency volatility and aligning with strategic economic objectives in different regions.
Experts and officials emphasize that the discussion around currency diversification is part of a wider trend toward multipolar finance. The idea is to cultivate financial ecosystems where countries can settle transactions using a mix of currencies, and where regional institutions play a more prominent role in setting terms for cross-border commerce. While the exact outcomes remain fluid, the memo contributes to a ongoing dialogue about how nations might structure their monetary infrastructure to balance stability with strategic autonomy. It is noted that the evolution of these ideas depends on a variety of factors, including political will, economic health, and the development of secure, mutually trusted payment networks that can operate outside the traditional dollar-centric model.