Russia returns
Once you’ve been a world power, you don’t want to let that out of your sight.
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has been trying to return to that state of power.
Its government increasingly resembles the Communist ideal, toned down to a socialist system that admits but controls capitalism.
In defiance of the West, it does not mind autocratic leaders or oligarchs.
And its military power is ratling its sabers.
Russia is planning a “comprehensive rearmament” of its military, President Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
The country will aim for 70 percent of its weaponry to be “modern” by 2020, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said, according to RIA-Novosti, the state-run news agency.
Russia invaded Georgia, to its south, in August of last year — the first time Russian military forces had engaged in an offensive outside their borders since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russia is also looking for allies. In addition to making oil-based business partnerships with Venezuela and Cuba, Russia has been courting some old allies — and some new. Among other things, she’s getting cozy with India and China, who like Russia do not identify themselves as European. The new Russian vision is of Russia as a superpower, with strong allies to form a Bloc against the west.
First, look at how all three are preparing themselves for the kind of conflict that can be waged without triggering nuclear war — high intensity conventional air-driven combat. This means that a huge ground force surges in, but unlike past East Bloc strategies, this ground force has a NATO-style air shield over it and overwhelming munitions capacity.
In the last two years, Russia, India and China have all announced or clarified major defense programs that include everything from the development of advanced fighters to upgrading aircraft carriers.
It turns out that adversaries took careful note of the way the United States
and its allies used air dominance in all its operations. They reshaped their defense plans to make inroads on that asymmetric advantage. They are building advanced missiles, aircraft and subsystems, and there’s also a world market for their best wares.
Next, look at how Russia is shoring up its national borders:
- Russia Scapegoats Migrants in Economic Downturn
- Rabbis’ expulsion worries Russia’s Jews
- Russia to deploy new warheads in December
What does this look like, my fellow students of history and politics? It’s a classic power-concentrating move. First, gain allies out there in the world who will make you look good and provide support. Second, kick out the ethnics and others who threaten the solidarity of culture and values. Finally, bulk up your military and rattle some sabers.
The most interesting things here are that Russia is learning from NATO’s successful strategies of years past, including the knowledge that in wargaming with NATO, Russia lost out because of its diminished air power, and that Russia is determined to meet the West technology-for-technology and force-for-force. See this:
Russia has deployed its second state-of-the-art S-400 anti-ballistic missile system regiment, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.
Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said the regiment had been armed with the new S-400 Triumf air defense missile system and it already had been put into combat service in Russia, the report said.
If the S-400 (NATO designation SA-21 Growler) lives up to its specifications, it could be the most advanced air defense system in the world against low-flying aircraft, cruise missiles and even intermediate-range ballistic missiles. U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles are far more vulnerable to advanced air defense interceptor systems because they fly relatively slowly, at only 650 mph, a subsonic speed. By contrast, Russia’s most advanced cruise missiles fly at three times that speed — Mach 2.8, or 1,900 mph.
The message is clear: we can stop enough of your missiles, and hit you with enough of ours, that you’re not the only top dog in town. The keyword Russia and its allies want to stress is “multipolar world order,” or one in which there is more than one superpower. They want you to know that one of those superpowers is Russia, that she’s back and she’s bad, and you’d better not cross her or you’ll face the wrath.