Russia has been talked about in the news a lot in the past several years, and has garnered an incredible amount of attention in the USA of late. They have been accused of hacking a political party’s files in order to favor one over the other. They have been accused of blackmailing our politicians and planting their own agents. They have been accused of spreading a huge amount of fake news throughout our country, in order to change the course of the general election.
On top of that, some in Europe believe that President Vladimir Putin was pushing for Brexit to weaken the EU, because he would like to take back more of Eastern Europe. While it would be nice to consider this alarmism, he has already taken Crimea, half of Ukraine, and doesn’t seem interested in stopping anytime soon. Below are 10 reasons why we should keep a careful eye on Russia and their actions over the next several years.
10. They Shut Down Estonia’s Internet Infrastructure For Almost a Month
Estonia is an Eastern European country near the Russian border, and they are actually quite unique when it comes to any country in the world, because they rely on the internet for almost everything. They use the internet for paying parking fines, voting, paying utility bills and taxes, and almost anything else you could imagine. Children in Estonia are taught to use the internet properly in school at a young age, and it is considered one of the most tech savvy countries in the world.
That’s why, in 2007, Estonians understandably freaked out when their internet infrastructure was hit by a cyber-attack that managed to keep the entire system down for three whole weeks. Estonians are understandably worried that it was a test for a possible Russian invasion down the road. Estonia was once part of the Soviet Union, is seeded with ethnic Russians so Putin could attempt to pull something similar to Crimea, and with their infrastructure down, it would be hard for them to resist the chaos Putin could create. With the recent aggressive moves by Russia both in terms of cyber-crime and their continuing ventures in Ukraine, Estonia fears they may be next and is preparing for war.
9. The Russian Mock Invasion That Would Take Key Islands From Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden
Some may think that Russia would never dare go that far into Eastern Europe, or really keep pushing at all much beyond Ukraine. However, people back during WWII said that Hitler would stop after he took the Rhineland, and they were very, very wrong. The truth is that Putin has no reason to stop unless someone makes him, and he has already taken Crimea and roughly half of Ukraine. While some may be skeptical, back in March of 2015, Russia conducted a mock set of invasions that were set on the rather insane and clearly made up idea that the West was trying to physically overthrow Putin and pull off some kind of coup.
In response to this fake threat, the test invasion conducted would have them take away key islands from Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, making it almost impossible for the NATO allies to come to the rescue. While the Russians tried to give a flimsy pretext that it was in response to a Western based attack, that doesn’t really hold water, because the real strategic value of those islands is that it would cut off the Baltic States from NATO. This means that Russia would be able to easily take Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia and force them back into the Soviet Union, and it would be almost impossible for NATO to provide any kind of proper support or help. The fact that Russia put so much time and effort into practicing such an attack is troubling, to say the least.
8. With the EU Increasingly Weakening, Russia is in a Stronger Position to Invade Eastern Europe
When the Brexit vote occurred, Putin tried to remain indifferent on the surface, but many experts believe he was very excited. The main thing that stops Putin from taking back the former Soviet States is a strong European Union and a strong NATO, which kind of coincide in a lot of ways right now. Unfortunately, both NATO and the European Union are in historically weak positions, and it seems like that problem is only going to increase as time goes on. With the United Kingdom out of the EU, it is possible more people could leave, and it may be much harder for the Western Europeans to mount any kind of proper defensive support if Putin rolls into Eastern Europe.
This also hurts the sanctions put on him by the United States and the European Union, as the sanctions are only as strong as the united front the countries performing them keep up against the Russians. If the European Union continues to dissolve, Russia will have more negotiating power with individual states, and will find it easy to bully small European countries with their comparatively large economy. In the end, both in terms of potential invasions and in terms of negotiating power, the Russians win big whenever Europe becomes weaker. To make matters worse for the Eastern Europeans, we have a US president who knows little about NATO and campaigned, in part, on it being obsolete (though he’s finally coming around on its importance), and cares about our agreements to protect small countries even less.
7. Russia Today is Kremlin Controlled and Russian Fake News Propaganda is a Global Machine
President Putin tries to dance around the issue, so it isn’t quite as obvious to everyone, but the truth is that Russia Today might as well be Putin’s personal blog. It is funded, owned and operated by the Kremlin – in other words the Russian government. The government claims that it is not totally government controlled, but Putin also admits that it should kind of be expected that they will say things that are positive about the government and its agenda. While not saying it outright, it is clear the purpose of Russia Today is simply to spread the Kremlin’s propaganda all over the world. It is perhaps one of the most unreliable sources on the planet, but many people who see Russia Today in other countries do not realize just how unreliable it is.
To make matters worse, a lot of fake news regarding the US election was traced right back to Russians, and there is reason to believe many of them were even paid trolls. Despite America’s best efforts to handle its own elections, it is scary to think how easily the Russians have managed to manipulate emotions and decisions simply by posting fake stories. If that wasn’t enough, there is reason to believe that a lot of similar propaganda is being spread in Europe as well, in order to weaken support for the EU and bolster the image of Vladimir Putin around the world.
6. We May Call Putin a Tyrant, but He’s Extremely Popular in Russia
Putin may be a man who is very interested in conquest, and he has some very grand plans. For this reason, many people like to put him in the realm of comic book villain, and look at him as a truly evil individual. While he does support a lot of draconian laws, especially against gay people, the truth is that Russia has always had very fascistic laws and very little freedom. The Russian people are fairly used to hardship, rationing, and not having a particularly strong say in government. When it comes to being a fascist, if anything Putin is lenient compared to some of the leaders of the past. What this means is that while he is dangerous to us, when we act is if he is horrible to the Russian people and posit the possibility of them one day rising up against them, it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of our Russian rivals.
We assume that they have the same priorities we do, but they simply don’t. Americans are more concerned with individual freedoms and don’t particularly care about refighting old battles. However, when Putin took back Crimea, it came with a great surge of popularity back home, because he was bringing back a certain amount of Russian pride as well. The Russian people felt stronger, and better to know that Putin was bringing back the old Soviet Union. Many of them now see him not as another politician, but as a transformational figure that has helped bring Russia back to what it once was. Russians still complain about politics and the country in general, but Putin still keeps his approvals in the low 80s, and even watchdogs from other countries believe the polls are at least mostly accurate. We aren’t saying Putin is a nice guy, but it is important to understand the people you are up against. We may not like Putin, but the fact that he is popular at home is not just Russian propaganda.
5. Putin Has Consolidated Power and May Very Well be President for Life
One of the things that makes it harder for a country like Europe or the United States to deal with threats from dictators is that the dictator has the advantage of remaining in power forever, consolidating his holdings, making him capable of carrying out truly long term plans. On the other hand, countries like the USA have regular elections that change our governmental leaders, which means we constantly have to refresh our policies to deal with the latest threats. Every president will have a different idea on how to deal with our foreign enemies or rivals, and that means an entirely new road map. In the meantime, someone like Putin can remain in office for nearly two decades, ensuring he can slowly work on his goals.
Putin was first term limited, then made a new position for himself that was above the president to get that problem out of the way. Then, he managed to become president again after taking care of the pesky term limit issue. And, while he hasn’t said he will run yet, many expect him to run again next year, and with his popularity, it would be hard for him to lose unless something catastrophic happened to Russia to completely tank his poll numbers. And with calls from some within the Russian government for Vladimir Putin to remain president for life, it seems clear that has been the plan for quite some time now.
4. There’s a Possibility They Have Blackmail Material on the US President
While we know that Donald Trump has business dealings in Russia, which have been the subject of much suspicion and rumor, and that many in his campaign were said to have contacted Russia during the campaign, which has led some to believe that there is far more to the story. According to a dossier of information, much of which is hard to verify, Trump visited Russia as part of a beauty pageant, and while staying in a hotel room, he got up to some antics that were quite risqué and embarrassing. He allegedly had prostitutes pee on a hotel bed that had once been used by Barack and Michelle Obama.
And according to the dossier, the Russians had been monitoring this room, and now have incredible dirt on Trump. Due to his many business dealings with them, and this blackmail they had, they decided to push him toward politics, and did their best to help him succeed, because they believed that they could use their blackmail to get sanctions lifted or other pro-Russia policies put in place. Of course, there is no proof that this blackmail exists, or that the event occurred as alleged, but the thought that they have blackmail on our president is very troubling. And even if they do not have that kind of blackmail, the fact he once admitted to having a large amount of business dealings with Russia, and would not disclose his taxes, still makes things suspicious for other reasons.
3. The Gay Concentration Camps Currently Operating in Chechnya (Part Of Russia)
Right now in Chechnya, a region which is now part of the Russian Federation, gay people are being rounded up like dangerous animals and either tortured for days on end or killed. These men are being held in what are essentially being described as concentration camps for gay people. Bounties are being paid for gangs of mercenaries to round up gay men wherever they can find them. This includes their homes, secret gay hangout spots, and they will even perform sting operations to find gay people.
There are reports that they are receiving beatings and electric shocks, and are sometimes even being released simply so they can be re-caught for sport, and so that the hunter can double dip on the bounty for the captured gay person. Some are blackmailed and threatened with much worse torture or death if they don’t pay large sums of money – because being gay is illegal in Chechnya, these men are all too eager to agree to avoid even worse punishment. Unfortunately, the only group that really has the power to stop this is the Russian government, and they are denying that there is any purge going on. Considering their knowledge of what happens in their territories, it boggles the mind that they do not know. And when you look at their own reputation when it comes to gay people, the sad truth is that the Kremlin likely understands what is happening and approves of it – gay people are not welcome in Russia.
2. Russia Currently Has the Largest Active Nuclear Stockpile in the World
When most people think of the most powerful nuclear country, they tend to immediately think of the United States. But the truth is that Russia actually has a slightly larger stockpile of nuclear weapons than the US does – this includes both stockpiled warheads and those that are fully operational and ready to go. The United States has close to 7,000 nuclear warheads, but Russia has over 7,000, beating the US by a small margin. They also have about forty more active nuclear warheads than America does, with both countries having close to 2,000 that they are ready to launch. Some may think China is close, but they actually don’t have any operational warheads at the moment. The next closest countries are actually France, with a few hundred, and the United Kingdom, with a little over 100 in terms of operational nuclear weapons.
For this reason alone, Russia has to be respected. With one of the largest economies, areas of sheer territory, and that many nuclear weapons, they are a very strong force to be reckoned with. A ground invasion of Russia has already been proven to be all but impossible, and a serious air battle would lead to them threatening nukes against the US. In the meantime, it is hard to prevent Russia from taking back countries in Eastern Europe without starting some kind of full blown war, or threatening the use of nuclear weapons – an empty threat because we know Russia could respond in kind. Due to being such a strong nuclear power, apart from fighting proxy wars over the ground Russia is trying to occupy, there isn’t a lot we can do to slow them down.
1. Military Service is Compulsory for Young Men, so Nearly All Russian Males Have Military Experience
The Russians are also dangerous because nearly every male of any decent health has at least a few years of military service under his belt. The Russians have made it compulsory for young men between the ages of 18 and 27 to serve in the military so that every capable citizen will be ready if necessary, and also to keep the military strong, full, and well-disciplined at all times. Now, draft dodging is fairly common for this reason, as not everyone wants to join the military, but it can actually be quite hard to do. Without a legitimate medical reason, you often need to pay thousands of dollars for fake documents to forge your way out of it. And you may still be caught and forced into service anyways, especially if you try tricks like staying at a different address than the one you put down officially.
And despite the draft dodgers, this means Russia still has a very, very large portion of its healthy young men learning the ways of the military lifestyle, and how to fight and die for their country if needed. With a percentage of men with military training much higher than that of other countries, they have a very large pool of capable people to pull from if they end up in any extended wars or conflicts spread throughout the world. Some countries near Russia, such as Sweden, have recently added compulsory military service in order to prepare for the potential threat they see coming down the road. The world has to be very watchful of Russia, and those who live in Eastern Europe have the most to fear.
8 Comments
7. There are enormous parts of Russian territory that the government has no idea what is happening in right now, so the total control is BS. The global propaganda machine is real though.
6.True in general, although he is less popular than he used to be back when he still was a reasonable person during his first 2 terms as a president. The problem is that there is no sensible candidate that could become a president and keep post-putinist Russia from descending into chaos. And believe me, Russia in Chaos is the last thing the world (and the USA) needs.
5. True in general.
4.Really? This is the kind of news You would find in the russian propaganda articles. It’s just another evidence that Putin has actually been just a very diligent observer of how the USA deals with thing world-wide and copying their ways.
3.True in general. The problem is that Putin gae Kadyrov way to do whatever he wants as long as Chechenya remains free of war and terrorism. Any active interference may lead to a new war breaking out. Apart from that – Putin is a conservatve and disaproves of Gay people himself, so it’s doubtful he will do anything about that. On the other hand – noone is certain what is happening in that camps as there has been contradictory reports on them. However, the sole fact that they exist is outrageous.
2.I wouldn’t fear that unless Putin is really pushed against the wall. What is to be afraid of is the fact that after the great compromitation that the intervention in Georgia has been for the Russian Military, they have now made their army powerfull and well-trained again. So You should be more scared of their conventional forces now. Putin is not (yet) crazy enough to lounch the nukes.
1.Yeah, the thing is that most of the reservists had their military trainings years ago, back when the military was overgrown but incapable of doing anything.
Oh, give me a break!
While it can’t be denied that Putin has lately become more crazy than he was and that when pushed against the wall he may become unpredictible, the above list is just propaganda.
10.That may be Putin trying to scare the Estonionians or that may have been independent nationalist hackers from Russia (actualy, since there are no prooves it could have been simply a prodigy teenage hacker from within Estonia sa well). If You knew anything about the situation of Russians in the Baltic Republics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) You would know that the conflict here is much deeper and complicated. While Russians do have some interest in the Baltic Republics (shortest way to the Kaliningrad Oblast). Any military action against them is very unlikely right now.
9. Oh, please! Both NATO and WP had been doing such manouevers thruought the Cold War, many armies (including the USArmy!) do that all the time. It is to practise, yes, but mainly to show the world: look, we are the strongest! Don’t mess with us! Putin is showing off, but not more than NATO actually.
8.Weaker UE may be good for him, but not necessarily to invade the rest of the Eastern Europe. Putin has no interest in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania etc. Nor does he has money for that (otherwise he would have incorporated the “Rogue Republics” in Ukraine long ago. He may seek to weaken the EU as it was partly UE’s fault that Yanukovych was overthrown and while he wasn’t the best and most honest president, he still had support of about 50% of Ukrainian citizens and he offered a simple way to end the conflict (that was not accepted by the opposition already marching to victory). And the guys who came after him were no better, using the army (and paramilitary grouops) against their own citizens, making people responsible for unthinkable acts of gnocide national heroes… and not solving a single problem that the state was facing during Yanukovich’s rule.
And by the way – the “Novorossia” and Crimea were never historically part of Ukraine. The Ukrainian SSR got them from the USSR only because it’s Ukrainian leaders (Khrushev and Brezhnev) decided so. While the situation in the rogue republics wasn’t so obvious, majority of the inhabitants of Crimea wanted to be part of Russia, even 10 years ago (they still don’t want to become a part of Ukraine again, but the enthusiasm for being re-united with Russia is much less frequent now).
Oh, give me a break!
While it can’t be denied that Putin has lately become more crazy than he was and that when pushed against the wall he may become unpredictable, the above list is just propaganda.
10.That may be Putin trying to scare the Estonionians or that may have been independent nationalist hackers from Russia (actually, since there are no proves it could have been simply a prodigy teenage hacker from within Estonia sa well). If You knew anything about the situation of Russians in the Baltic Republics (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) You would know that the conflict here is much deeper and complicated. While Russians do have some interest in the Baltic Republics (shortest way to the Kaliningrad Oblast). Any military action against them is very unlikely right now.
9. Oh, please! Both NATO and WP had been doing such maneuvers throughout the Cold War, many armies (including the USArmy!) do that all the time. It is to practice, yes, but mainly to show the world: look, we are the strongest! Don’t mess with us! Putin is showing off, but not more than NATO actually.
8.Weaker UE may be good for him, but not necessarily to invade the rest of the Eastern Europe. Putin has no interest in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania etc. Nor does he has money for that (otherwise he would have incorporated the “Rogue Republics” in Ukraine long ago. He may seek to weaken the EU as it was partly UE’s fault that Yanukovych was overthrown and while he wasn’t the best and most honest president, he still had support of about 50% of Ukrainian citizens and he offered a simple way to end the conflict (that was not accepted by the opposition already marching to victory). And the guys who came after him were no better, using the army (and paramilitary grouops) against their own citizens, making people responsible for unthinkable acts of genocide national heroes… and not solving a single problem that the state was facing during Yanukovich’s rule.
And by the way – the “Novorossia” and Crimea were never historically part of Ukraine. The Ukrainian SSR got them from the USSR only because it’s Ukrainian leaders (Khrushev and Brezhnev) decided so. While the situation in the rogue republics wasn’t so obvious, majority of the inhabitants of Crimea wanted to be part of Russia, even 10 years ago (they still don’t want to become a part of Ukraine again, but the enthusiasm for being re-united with Russia is much less frequent now).
7. There are enormous parts of Russian territory that the government has no idea what is happening in right now, so the total control is BS. The global propaganda machine is real though.
6.True in general, although he is less popular than he used to be back when he still was a reasonable person during his first 2 terms as a president. The problem is that there is no sensible candidate that could become a president and keep post-putinist Russia from descending into chaos. And believe me, Russia in Chaos is the last thing the world (and the USA) needs.
5. True in general.
4.Really? This is the kind of news You would find in the Russian propaganda articles. It’s just another evidence that Putin has actually been just a very diligent observer of how the USA deals with thing world-wide and copying their ways.
3.True in general. The problem is that Putin gae Kadyrov way to do whatever he wants as long as Chechenya remains free of war and terrorism. Any active interference may lead to a new war breaking out. Apart from that – Putin is a conservative and disapproves of Gay people himself, so it’s doubtful he will do anything about that. On the other hand – noone is certain what is happening in that camps as there has been contradictory reports on them. However, the sole fact that they exist is outrageous.
2.I wouldn’t fear that unless Putin is really pushed against the wall. What is to be afraid of is the fact that after the great compromitation that the intervention in Georgia has been for the Russian Military, they have now made their army powerfull and well-trained again. So You should be more scared of their conventional forces now. Putin is not (yet) crazy enough to lounch the nukes.
1.Yeah, the thing is that most of the reservists had their military trainings years ago, back when the military was overgrown but incapable of doing anything.
Pee on the bed? So THAT’s why they call him “Trump The Pump!”.
?
“He allegedly had prostitutes pee on a hotel bed that had once been used by Barack and Michelle Obama.”
You are still holding onto lies that have absolutely no basis in reality. You claim we should be worried about Putin using the Russian media as his own personal blog, meanwhile in the US the Democratic party uses the media as their own personal blog. Your own ignorance is proof of how the US media crusades against the liberals enemies as if it is their sole purpose.
Hmm, I think we should all be scared of the US and there involvement in all world affairs.