Posted on 09/30/2025 12:38:00 AM PDT by Apparatchik
For years now, Russia has been desperately attempting to convince the world — and, indeed, itself — that it is a great power. But photo opportunities at summits, nuclear saber-rattling, boasts about BRICS and military adventurism abroad are less signs of true power than the tactics of a weak actor attempting to mask weakness — to divert attention from a crumbling empire.
Behind the façade of a belligerent great power lurks a hollowing-out state, edging toward the exit of the great powers’ clubhouse. Once indisputable — in fact, during the Cold War, one of only two superpowers — Russia today is visibly in decline.
History offers little comfort: The international system has a depressingly poor track record in managing the fall of great powers. More often, decline has been a source of violent turbulence, even world war.
Declining powers lash out. Sometimes it is a reflex for relevance, sometimes an attempt to compensate for structural weakness, sometimes a desperate gamble that one last throw of the dice might reverse decline.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
This line of analysis is well-founded. Putin is a powerful but corrupt, vain, and shallow man who will be harshly judged by later generations of Russians.
Russia has the pomp, but bad circumstances.
(With apologies to Elgar)
CC
I’m not so sure about that. They have a long history of autocratic tyrants in control. It’s basically their default setting.
CC
I see The Hill(and others) doesn’t seem to be able to discern the free fall of decline that the USA has been in for decades.
No, just most of them.
CC
You didn’t even bother to read it, did you? Simply dismissed it on the basis of its publisher. Surely an indicator of a closed, unthinking mind—fertile ground for disinformation and gaslighting. I pity you.
The decline of Russia happen up to 1991 when they ditched communism. Contrast that to all these western countries who are embracing varying degrees of communism as we speak. Russia actually made it through Communism.
To one degree or another. It seems to be both an occupational hazard and the expression of a national character trait.
Similar to the aphorism said of Americans:
“Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.”
Churchill, I believe.
CC
Peepers always believe in America Last.
At least you admit that’s what you hope for.
Russia today is visibly in decline.
———————
With my eyes I see boys in girls locker rooms, men in woman’s locker rooms, funny looking rainbow flags still everywhere, Transxyz’s still in government agencies, gay marriage, diseased men thinking they are woman shooting up the land…..who is the Nation in Decline?
Until this craziness stops and our land is healed, I can say America is without doubt the one in the greatest decline.
Russia today is visibly in decline.
———————
With my eyes I see boys in girls locker rooms, men in woman’s locker rooms, funny looking rainbow flags still everywhere, Transxyz’s still in government agencies, gay marriage, diseased men thinking they are woman shooting up the land…..who is the Nation in Decline?
Until this craziness stops and our land is healed, I can say America is without doubt the one in the greatest decline.
User name: appropriate
The Hill is a poor choice of information on this topic. They might have been correct if this was written the late 80s or early 90s... however, the GDP of Russia and their far reaching relations with the rest of the world outside the G7 shows that in our self-imposed isolation that we don’t have clue about what is happening according to this BS.
Reminds me of one of my favorite songs.
Eye of the Paper Tiger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btPJPFnesV4
Russia’s birthrate has been higher than the USA’s for the last two years. They both went up, but Russia’s increase was much higher and from a much lower rate.
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