Russia is No Longer a Superpower

(By American Zen's Mike Flannigan, on loan from Ari)  

If nothing else, Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine has unveiled several truths about Russia as well as Ukraine and NATO in general. Firstly, the best thing Putin has achieved, besides NATO solidarity, is a series of what can best be described as Pyrrhic victories. His 190,000 troops that initially encircled Ukraine, the 40 mile-long convoy and ground assaults have been infamously stymied by Ukrainian resistance and Russian incompetence.

     Putin responded by firing eight generals, at least those who haven't been taken out by Ukrainian snipers, and launched an aerial bombardment shelling key cities in violation of international law. And, in what has become synechdotal of this entire needless war, the small city of Voznesens'k, population 35,000, successfully sent the Russian army packing. Not only that, the small city repelled the Russian invaders so forcefully, it was downright humiliating.

     Several Russian soldiers were killed during the two day-long battle, with Russia leaving behind not just dead bodies but 30 of the 43 vehicles they brought with them. Voznesens'k, in case you were wondering, is a back door, and the only access point, to Odessa, an important Ukrainian port city. As with Russia's underwhelming performance in the war in general, the people of Voznesens'k represent the entire Ukrainian population: Defiant to the point of belligerence, with civilians learning on the fly how to act like soldiers and their local elected leaders learning to think like tacticians, forming blockades by land and water.

     Considering Russia's lack of progress and the fact that most of the world's governments, NATO, the UN have stood united against Russia and several hundreds of corporations have suspended or ceased doing business with them, I think we can now safely dispense with the hoary Cold War notion that Russia is still a superpower. Let's face facts: If it was, it would've run roughshod over the much smaller Ukraine in a matter of days.

     Instead, we've seen the Russian military embarrassed at almost every turn and they have to resort to brute destruction that's intended to pose as progress and negotiation leverage. If Russia was truly still a superpower, Putin wouldn't have had to crawl on his belly and beg Xi of China for help and he wouldn't be reduced to calling in Syrian (which could go either/or) and Chechen mercenaries to get involved. 

     Secondly, since it's been proven in rather stark and humiliating fashion that Russia is no longer a superpower militarily, recent economic data shows that the GDP of Russia, geographically the largest nation on earth, as of this year ranks 11th in the world, behind much smaller France, Italy and Japan. That's a stunning reversal from the heyday of the Soviet Union, which held a steady #2 position through state-owned industry and collectivization that, frankly, was a throwback to the days of the Bolsheviks.

     The crippling sanctions, that are getting added to or enhanced every single day with merciless speed and efficiency, reveal and betray Russia's inherent weakness on a military, diplomatic and economic front. Just because Russia still has the bomb, it doesn't make them a world superpower. At this stage in its history, Russia is merely the most bloated rogue terrorist state on earth, one inexorably headed for self-destruction.