Posted on 06/22/2016 9:54:15 AM PDT by NRx
Russia is not the country you think it is. Its economy is smaller than South Korea’s. Its people are poorer than Kazakhstan’s. It trails Finland in technology. And it has a smaller military budget than Saudi Arabia...
...Russia hosted the Olympics, punched Georgia in the nose, took back the Crimea, invaded Ukraine, flew bombers through NATO airspace, built military bases in the Arctic, and generally flexed and posed like an oiled, aged, but still buff, body builder. And we’ve been paying increasingly rapt attention, not noticing the geriatric walker hidden just off stage. A closer look is almost shocking.
According to the International Monetary Fund’s most recent data, the Russian economy is approximately the same size as Australia and slightly smaller than South Korea. As an exporter, it is now less important than Belgium, Mexico, and Singapore.
And it is poor. The World Bank ranks Russia’s GDP per capita below Lithuania, Equatorial Guinea, and Kazakhstan. A larger proportion of its population lives below the poverty rate than in Indonesia, India, or Sri Lanka. It is ranked 67th in the world in the Global Competitive Index and 66th in the UN’s Human Development Index.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
“Pulau has a better university system? Please”
Having lived in that part of the world and vacationed in Pulau as well, if there is a school system there it is a bunch of hippie dippie types ruining the place.
Defense Budget by Country
http://www.globalfirepower.com/defense-spending-budget.asp
Apparently the main reason for war is to get rid of the potentially rioting class, but we never learned that lesson.
Russia has resisted many invasions by brilliant military leaders. It’s people love Mother Russia and they are a war people.
The article does a good job trivalizing a major military power. It alliances with some of the worlds most agressive regimes. It also faces a Europe with almost no miliary and less will to fight.
Because of the material needs pointed out in the article, at some point Russia is going to go after Europe. That is what wars are about. Taking stuff from others.
I don’t feel that kind of thing is going to happen, but I wouldn’t discount the kind of situation that Red China and the USSR were in between 1945 and 1970, where they had occasional armed small armed spats on the border, with the 1969 one turning pretty deadly.
Especially in the air, things can happen pretty fast and spiral out of control. With this POS in the White House and his army of incompetents, I could easily see bad things happening.
Nothing invites aggression like weakness, and we have weakness in spades.
There’s no Izvestiya in Pravda, and there’s no Pravda in Izvestiya.
The only thing about Russia that causes fear in policy makers is the complete indoctrination in all policy makers that were educated during the cold war that Russia is cause for extreme fear.
Being askert of the Russian Bear is just habit in the thumb-sucking wonks.
Who doesn't?
I’d be willing to bet a beer that Russia has much better national pride than we do even if they are not a rich nation from the outside looking in.
What you say about much of the economy running below the radar is most likely correct. Also; Russia is much much older than we are. To judge them by American ways, I almost said values but that wouldn’t be correct, would be a mistake. They have their way and we have ours.
I bet they see us as weak, spoiled, and clueless. In many ways I would have to agree. Our melting pot has weakened our national pride. How can we have a national pride when any given grade school in NYC speak 160 different languages or when such a high percentage of people are on food stamps and other forms of welfare?
Now, with the invasion of not only Hispanics but Islamists, we are diluted even more.
Moscow Is the Largest Muslim City In Europe, Russian Parliamentarian Says
I would go further. This smells like pre-US attack propaganda. Following the recent increase in CIA/SOF in NE Syria and the suicidal State Dept. 51 call for war against the Russians, this “op/ed” is a very, very bad sign.
The madmen must be stopped.
Anyone who underestimates the Russians is, at a minimum, at an immediate disadvantage; acting on that underestimation is suicidal.
Sheer coinkydink...or WAS it? :o)
True enough.
China concerns me a lot more than Russia.
Regarding military/naval expenditures, the US spends vastly more
funds on personnel, buildings, costs for people compared to our rivals.
How much does a Chinese Army corporal get paid vs. a US Army corporal?
The Chinese armed forces probably haven't changed that much -- manpower so vast its considered expendable, high tolerance of friendly fire losses, sent to battle underequipped... the 2 million Chinese "volunteers" who attacked in Korea were sent with a 10 pound bag of rice, each; supplies lasted longer due to attrition -- unused rice was picked up by survivors.
Russia is not overrun by minorities that hate it and want it to support them
And their leader loves the nation he leads
That’s pretty strong advantage in my book to the dissolution of country and culture my government is handing my children
Well put. And the clock is ticking close to midnight now on the Boston Globe, New York Times, et al.
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