eli5 – Russia has an economy smaller than Canada or Italy. How does it continue to be a threatening, great power without going bankrupt?
In: 808
Propaganda.
Russia is a regional power with nuclear weapons, so they’re certainly not weak. But a big part of why the west presents them as such a big threat is because it’s useful if the populace believes that. No healthcare, unaffordable housing, stagnant wages, and an interventionist military doctrine. All these concerns become secondary if we just convince everyone that there are big evil countries out there that want to destroy the world. The US spent 20+ years fighting ‘terrorists’, now the people are getting tired of it, so a new boogeyman is needed.
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