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It makes it a Nuclear power...nothing more! They do not possess the economic or military power to affect the world...only their own location and neighbors. They have no force-projection capability beyond their own continent.
Although there is no clear agreed upon definition...it is widely viewed that the USA is currently the only superpower.
The US and China are the worlds superpowers at the moment, they are probably neck and neck most of the time, as to which one is MOST powerful, they could both be done in very quickly by each other if it came to that, but they both rely on each other in many different ways too, however China is taking Russias side...this has the potential to trigger WW3, and that will be the end of everything as we know it. WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones.
The US and China are the worlds superpowers at the moment, they are probably neck and neck most of the time, as to which one is MOST powerful, they could both be done in very quickly by each other if it came to that, but they both rely on each other in many different ways too, however China is taking Russias side...this has the potential to trigger WW3, and that will be the end of everything as we know it. WW4 will be fought with sticks and stones.
China is an economic superpower, NOT a military superpower. They have almost zero force projection.
They have a large number of small ships that are mostly littoral. They have 1 diesel carrier that holds 2/3 the planes that just 1 of our 11 super-carriers can hold. They have another carrier they are trying to field but it is no more capable than the existing one. They cannot send it into true blue water because they need it in the South China Sea for defense.
If the US wanted, it could blockade the Middle East, The South China Sea and a few other areas and basically starve out both Russia and China simultaneously. As long as we kept to dominating the seas and air and did not try any land invasions, we could force them to capitulate in 18-24 months.
They always have their nukes though...but they will fare far worse than the US and they know it.
I'm not implying any other this would be pretty...it wouldn't...for anyone. I'm simply saying the US has a better chance at survival and recovery.
Hitler wanted to expand the "German empire" because of Lebensraum ("living room") due to population increase.
Russia, on the other hand, has suffered a population decline, which pretty much negates the "living room" argument for expansion. Plus, it has a vast underpopulated area.
It would appear that Russia is seeking to steal other people's land and valuables. That makes a poor reason for a Russian to go fight and die for "Mother Russia."
I'll go along with that. Ukraine, or part of it, will eventually lose this war, but in the end so will Russia.
Russia will lose because:
* The sanctions, which have sucked the air out of the Russian economy will virtually never be lifted. That means the economic future, which is tied to all the other Russian futures, is very bleak.
* Russia will lose 50% of its population in the next 70 years - down to 70M Russians and 20M Ukranians. That's not enough to rebuild the military which will begin crumbling today. Imagine a 70 year old submarine. Or even a 50 year old one.
* The EU will begin - and already has - to convert their natural gas requirements to Liquified Natural Gas. LNG is delivered by ship from Qatar, Australia, and Yours Truly. No one will buy from Russia who does not have to.
* The oil Russia sells is called Russian Ural, and "no one is buying it", in spite of a huge price discount.
Russia has shot themselves in the foot. Demographic gangrene will set in quickly and will not be reversed. Not ever.
The problem is.. ..they aren't going to go out into the night alone.. ..they're going to take as many of us with them as they can... ...I can absolutely see Putin's pride tripping when he weighs the advantages and disadvantages of Nuclear War.. ..when there are less disadvantages of NOT using Nukes than there are advantages... ...well... it's been a good run ya'll...
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Originally Posted by scorpio516
Sure, but they are second in Europe after Germany. And the scales are insane.
The third biggest economy in the world is India. Is India a super power?
#3 India is still less than half the size of #2 (US). And Japan, #4, is half the size of India. If you combine the 5th through 9th economies in the World, they are just a little bigger than #2's.
Economy isn't a great measure for "superpower"
If economy was a measure, we should be talking about Indonesia and India as superpowers along size Russia.
The Russian economy is not even second, with the UK, France and Italy all having far bigger economies than Russia.
Brazil and Canada also have larger economies than Russia, with the Russian economy currently ranked 11th in the world.
However once these latest sanctions kick in, I expect the Russian economy to retract and to slip even further in terms of global importance.
As for the Russian military, it can't afford to upgrade a lot of elderly equipment, and relies on outdated conventional and nuclear stockpiles, along with 12 months conscription for 18 year old males.
That aircraft carrier is a net asset for Russia's opponents. It doesn't work. It has to be escorted by ocean-going tugs wherever it goes. When it was deployed to the Med, it dropped two aircraft in the drink and well, that was it. Every manhour and every ruble you sink (heh) into that contraption is wasted. Which, strategically, benefits the West.
It's in drydock and may rejoin the fleet in 2023.
But your post is indicative of the Russian inferiority complex. If the West has aircraft carriers, we must have them, too! Never mind that it's a Lada to the West's Mercedes, it's an aircraft carrier, so there.
It's not a matter of inferiority complex. It's simply the present conditions of the nation being discussed right now.
Also, yeah, it's a 27 year old ship. Two vessels of the same class that were sold to the Chinese have been refitted and renovated which I believe are operational now. Again, underfunded and understaffed navy but with the potential for efficiency that it seems the Chinese and Indians recognise, the latter of whom's flagship is a Soviet design vessel. Trying to compare the Russian navy to the collective West has always seemed lopsided, in my opinion. How many nations against one?
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Originally Posted by Pryvete
It's not a matter of inferiority complex. It's simply the present conditions of the nation being discussed right now.
Also, yeah, it's a 27 year old ship. Two vessels of the same class that were sold to the Chinese have been refitted and renovated which I believe are operational now. Again, underfunded and understaffed navy but with the potential for efficiency that it seems the Chinese and Indians recognise, the latter of whom's flagship is a Soviet design vessel. Trying to compare the Russian navy to the collective West has always seemed lopsided, in my opinion. How many nations against one?
The Russian Navy has since the cold war been based around it's nuclear submarine fleet.
In the same way AS the German Navy relied on it's mighty fleet of U-Boats during WW2.
However even the Russian submarine fleet is no match for the US, whilst Britain and France have significant numbers.
I'm reading some of these responses and shaking my head. Doesn't anyone read the news and realize how dependent Europe is on Russian energy? Don't they realize that Russia has been methodically selling off it's US treasury holdings and accumulating gold and cash? And that combined with China and some other countries - this could get very, very ugly. This is all about control of natural resources and money. The west has their propaganda machine going at full steam. What do they expect Putin to do if he is losing and cornered? Simply give up and not use the weapons he has ? The financial system may crack globally and then you will see just how smart the stupid leaders in DC really are. This could have been avoided through diplomacy - but the USA and other fiat nations need an enemy to distract from their collapsing monetary systems. This is the Dems/WEF leaders push for a reset before the November election.
However once these latest sanctions kick in, I expect the Russian economy to retract and to slip even further in terms of global importance.
As for the Russian military, it can't afford to upgrade a lot of elderly equipment, and relies on outdated conventional and nuclear stockpiles, along with 12 months conscription for 18 year old males.
I worked in Russia on a project for a few years and their economy is a yo yo dependent on the price of oil and gas. Their products are inferior, and they have a "good enough" mentality in contrast with the German "never good enough" mentality. So, they have never really become a country able to deliver products desirable and competitive on the world market.
I agree their military hardware is rusty and not up to date and they would have no chance against the USA military today. They do, however, still hold powerful nukes that must be respected and managed.
Russia remains a bit of a paradox for me, many intellectuals but not really a strong work ethic sufficient to be competitive with the West or even China.
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