International institutions and organizations have turned into zombies, and the world is a hostage to decisions made in the interests of technological, military, and financial corporations, stated Igor Sechin, Executive Secretary of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security.

Speaking at the Energy Panel during the XXIX St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, he noted the obvious attempt to replace the global legal system with the legal system of a single country. "Such international institutions as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the nuclear arms limitation system, and others have turned from regulators into zombies," said Sechin during his presentation of the report "The Beginning of the End or the End of the Beginning: What’s left at the Bottom of Pandora's Box."

Currently, the UN is on the brink of bankruptcy, lacking the funds to pay its employees' salaries, and its very functioning is under threat. According to Sechin, Washington's debt to it has exceeded four billion dollars, and among the debtors are China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and over 30 other countries worldwide. "The very functioning of this organization is under threat," he noted.

"New leaders have come to the forefront: now the global economy is an absolute hostage to political decisions made in the interests of large corporations, primarily technological, military, and financial, which have formed a closed circle of beneficiaries," said Sechin.

He pointed out that along with such instruments of influence as pandemics, the destruction of supply chains, sanctions, embargoes, interference in internal affairs, political provocations, economic strangulation, the seizure of ships, the blowing up of pipelines, and the orchestration of coups d'état, the use of armed forces has been added.

"Practical experience shows that catastrophes are always the result of a combination of factors, only a fraction of which can be predicted and accounted for. The fuse of a tragedy consists of mistakes made, unforeseen circumstances, and unaccounted-for risks. When decisions are made solely based on self-interest, forecasting is impossible," observed Sechin.

He quoted the Italian thinker and political figure Niccolò Machiavelli, who said that the strength of power lies in its secrecy. "Pandora's box has opened, and the troubles and misfortunes that flew out of it will not return. The key question is what problems still remain at the bottom of the box. What else do we have yet to face?", said Sechin.

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Rosneft Oil Company
June 6, 2026