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
There are a few reasons. First, they are one of the few nuclear states in the world. Second, they have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and so they can veto UN sanctions and military intervention that’s against their interests. They are very they can’t compete with the USA, China, or the EU economically, but that’s not their strategy.
Russia isn’t a global threat. Survey after survey finds most global citizens see the USA as the greatest threat. Russia is just the Democratic Party’s boogieman.
They have the will to do it.
Canada or Italy isn’t willing to spend as much on military, and neither is everyone around Russia.
Or in the case of Poland, they can’t build up the forces quick enough to make a difference.
Are they though? They’re rich with oil and gas so other countries tip toe around them to not upset their fuel delivery arrangements and they are good with cyber “terrorism” but their military is full of old useless gear and they don’t have enough personel/gear/money for an actual war. That’s why they do the internet thing instead. They also have nukes so there’s that.
Russias economy is smaller than Canada or Italy in terms of nominal GDP.
However, when we adjust the economy by PPP (Purchasing power parity), ie how much work and how many bodies you can buy with that money inside the country. Then it’s a somewhat different story.
Adjusted for PPP Russias economy is about twice the size of Canadas. On top of that Russia is spending much more of its economy on the military (20% of government spending). Canada could also do that, if it was willing to reduce citizen access to public services and shifts its economy to a more warlike stance. So effectively Russia is spending 20 times what Canada is doing on its military in terms of internal economic muscle. The russian military is also mainly conscripted, so while Canada pays some $40000 a year the pay for your average russian conscript is $360 a year plus food, housing and clothing.
So to sum it up. Russia can continue to be a threatening power because its citizens are willing to accept worse conditions (less consumer goods, smaller housing, worse service and medical care, fewer freedoms and greater sacrifices) and it can much more effectively leverage its economy towards national production of military hardware.
They don’t, but spending a fuckload of stolen cash on propaganda and US needing a big bad enemy that they “can’t” fix, helps.
People have already mentioned their spending, but an important aspect to understand is Maskirovka
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_military_deception
Denial and Deception is official Military Doctrine of Russia.
The trouble nowadays is that these psychopaths like Putin and Jinping have forgotten in their hubris and relatively successful asymmetric war is that in a shooting war, both would be absolutely fucking wrecked up against the west, I hope they have people who remind them of that occasionally before we are forced to but make no mistake, it wouldn’t even be fucking close
A s**t-ton of energy/resources, a s**t-ton of nukes, a capacity for strategic thought and a f**k-off geography that straddles and connects Europe and Asia.
Also the demi god Putin and his 1000 year reign.
If you get a chance, read the book “Prisoners of Geography” by Tim Marshall.
Basically Russia has a lot of borders with a lot of countries, isn’t very well protected by natural geography (like mountains), and until Crimea had no ports with year round ocean access.
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