I remember the Cold War do you? I remember we won it, do you? Or did the country that dominated us, had the huge gains, to which we showed weakness win the war? The USSR lost, in a big way, they lost the entire empire. The USA won, not NATO.
The USA that won that war, that dominated the USSR and forced it into submission, no longer exist. What we have now is a weak Russia and a vacuous USA.
~The USA that won that war, that dominated the USSR and forced it into submission, no longer exist. What we have now is a weak Russia and a vacuous USA.~
It worth mentioning that the cold war was ‘won’ not by military means if you are looking at it on that terms. Also nobody in Russia believes they have lost. Common knowledge there says they understood they were wrong to pursue socialist goals, to hide behind iron curtain and to hold Europe as hostage so they have dismantled an evil empire voluntarily.
Both takes has obvious factual flaws of course, but you have to admit that mainstream American view is also very offensive for Russians and in no way they want to be treated as a defeated nation.
Nobody there likes NATO growing east as well, which factually predates modern Russian ‘imperialism’. And of course after dismembering of Serbia nobody takes US criticism of Russian involvement in Georgia and Ukraine any serious.
Along with a US criticism of Russian actions regarding Islamic extremism, which is much more a threat there than in America, it makes a perfect conditions for growing virulent anti-Americanism in Russia.
And we are talking about a country which was probably the most pro-American in world history in a period between 1989-1993 to the point of practically giving up a national souvereignity to Clinton administration.
Current actions of Obama’s administration comparing Russia to Ebola are adding to insult. And it is purely idiotic to think a majority of population would blame their authorities for a fallout of economic sanctions which are actually a gift for Russian government to explain any economic troubles with it putting all the blame on the West adding to an anti-Americanist crowd.
As for weaker both Russia and US I can’t disagree. People here saying that China is a distant third ignoring a fact that we are living in an era of non-linear warfare. Just look at the damage inflicted by Al-Qaeda which is technically not any viable power at all.