Russia has a serious problem. It has no geographic barriers to invasion and they are justifiably concerned about sitting on an open plain surrounded by countries who have regularly invaded them. The driving issue is that Russia is in a demographic collapse. In the land of free abortions and everything else being too expensive to allow easy survival, people stopped having children. Russia must act to secure boarders defensible by a significantly smaller army as there are fewer and fewer eighteen-year-old’s to fight invaders. Another issue is that Russia simply can’t afford food, as their economy is wrecked. All of their neighbors can make money exporting food stocks to the West, but can’t make the same money exporting to Russia. Therefore, Russia has to secure those stocks for itself while it still can muster an army to do so. If they don’t, then Russia will slowly starve even as there are fewer and fewer mouths to feed. For Russia, this is the perfect storm. They must either strike now or lose the ability to do so as the army ages-out of existance.
“The driving issue is that Russia is in a demographic collapse.”
What data is it based on?
I generally agree with your analysis, but though Russian insecurities may be motivating their aggressive behaviors, it doesn’t justify them. Russia’s problems are self inflicted. The Soviet Union did not collapse because of a lack of democracy. It collapsed because of central economic planning. This is a lesson Putin and his cronies evidently did not learn. More economic freedom is allowed for consumer goods, but heavy industry is still largely under political control. What difference does it make if a politically privileged oligarch calls himself “owner” or “director”. Either way the economic inefficiencies are the same.
Poland to Russia, "Bitch, please!"
——It has no geographic barriers to invasion——
Ahhhh.....That is my point so often challenged here.
Stalin asserted his power to take over eastern Europe and closed the Iron Curtain in recognition of the fact you stated. Another invasion of Mother Russia would be slowed and then stopped in say Poland
Putin is a great salesman. To sell the only products he has for export that are worth a damn he rattles a sabre and shows his stuff. He sells arms cheap.
Alcoholic men and women worked to the bone didn’t have time nor energy for families.
Being Putin and saving the very life of Mother Russia is Putin’s lot in life. It’s tough being Putin
“Another issue is that Russia simply can’t afford food...”
They can’t afford food but somehow manage to afford building thousands of expensive nuclear/space weapons.
Sort of like our “poor” people in the USA who supposedly go hungry at night but at the same time can afford expensive sneakers and mobile phones.