Is russia still a superpower?
Yeah, would you say that Russia is still a superpower? I mean, they're ranked second militarily, they have a population of 144 million, but their GDP is lower than France, Germany, UK and Italy.
Yeah | 20 | |
No | 9 |
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Yeah, would you say that Russia is still a superpower? I mean, they're ranked second militarily, they have a population of 144 million, but their GDP is lower than France, Germany, UK and Italy.
Yeah | 20 | |
No | 9 |
No they are not. Their economy is smaller than Brazil. They are primarily living off of old equipment from the USSR, which is degrading rapidly.
Their entire military has shrunk massively from when they were part of the Soviet Union because they cannot afford to support that large of a military.
Their surface Navy is worse hit and it no longer has the ability much beyond the waters around Russia itself (a far cry from when USSR destroyers and cruisers were always in the Atlantic Ocean and roamed widely in the Pacific Ocean.
Their Aircraft carriers no longer function. They have canceled the Destroyer and Cruiser replacement programs (allowing the remaining fleet to largely rust and degrade).
Their only active surface Navy program is frigates for being able to patrol its international water boundaries and a bit beyond.
They have maintained an active submarine fleet and is replacing attack submarines on a decent schedule.
It appears that they may be behind a bit on replacing Missile submarines (Boomers) to be able to maintain their current fleet size in the future. However, that could be reasonably reversed in the next 5 years within the existing programs.
Both their Air Force and Army is shrinking and while they have a very good new tank (likely best in the world) and a decent new fighter. The production numbers are limited and are not at a level to replace the old and outdated equipment as it wears out. In another 15 years they will loose a lot of capability because the old tanks, aircraft, and other equipment will not be serviceable in any real numbers.
Based on the information I have seen its likely that the Russian Army and Air force in 15 years will be half the size of what it was 15 years ago from an equipment standpoint.
Russian is still living on past glories on the military side. That all goes away as the equipment ages as its replacement is aimed at a much smaller and more limited capability military, with the exception of the submarine fleet.
I dont think it matters as most countries are equally doing their part to destroy the planet
I miss the Soviet Union. If they were still united then maybe Russia would still have been a superpower. I'm not russian though
I consider it to be, but mostly due it's military. That's all it truly has going for it. They need to find a way to improve their economy.
When their aircraft carrier gets some internal heating for its pipes then maybe.