Quote:
Originally Posted by afc wimbledon
If it wasn't for their 7,300 nuclear warheads I'd completely agree.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by ernie
And they are still a superpower ... They have a bunch of nuclear weapons of all shapes and sizes.
|
Nuclear warheads are useless for invading other countries. Most of Russia's are strategic deterrent weapons, and the tactical ones they have are extremely unlikely to be used offensively because that invites escalation. The Russians are not a superpower. They are a local power with lots of crappy nukes that they need thousands of because they are inaccurate junk.
You know what Russian bases there are outside of the old Soviet republics and Russia itself? There's a naval resupply base in Vietnam, and 2 bases in Syria, one naval and one air. That's it. You cannot credibly claim to be a superpower without the ability to project power worldwide. Even the British and French still have a far greater reach than that.
Anyway, the original point is that the Russians are weak bogeymen who don't directly threaten the West anymore.Yeah, it sucks if you're close enough to them for Putin to be able to reach you, or if you live in Syria, but other than that they are irrelevant compared to China, Western Europe, or America.