Russia as superpower status

Military speaking they were always one.. since they exist that is.. Defeated nothing less than 3 of the most powerful armies the world created. Ottoman empire .,Napolean empire and Nazis.. and their ancestors the mongols.
But in real world practice.. On influence and attraction , to become the center and the place everyone wants to live and get a job as it was USA.. then NEVER.   Russia still today have the same level of cities maintance and infrastructure of third world countries.. and this is no joking. Moscow made it on the list of the top 20 dirtiest cities ,and is not a lot better in ST petersburg .. Probably is a culture problem of communism mentality that still exist.. because everything was property of the government ,then no one cared for the good shape and maintenance of its infrastructure and cities.  Because nothing was of people property then they didn't saw a benefit of having their environments in good condition.  I mean.. you have just recently weeks ago in moscow subway a major accident where 50 or so people died... and the cause was poor maintenance of their SUbway facilities.. a wire not properly fixed.


you today news like this.. in nov 17 2014..  

600 people evacuated in Moscow after gas blasts, fires
Around 600 people have been evacuated from burning apartment buildings in the center of Moscow following a series of gas explosions, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry has said. The fires began due to jumps in the gas pressure, according to ministry spokesman Mikhail Gefenider. The blazes were reported in several buildings at 6:57 p.m. in the Presnenskiy region of Moscow, located in the western part of the city center. “According to updated information the fire took place in the 13 buildings, affecting 18 separate apartments,” Gefenider said. “The total area of the fire was 190 square meters. Firefighters rescued 12 people and seven people requested psychological assistance.”

So in Russia people dies a LOT for negligence and lack of maintenance of their infrastructure.. All this fires in buildings or train accidents where hundreds end killed or wounded.. Helicopters that crash almost every week in Russia.. All have their roots  of the Russian culture of not property caring for the maintenance and good quality of things.  I was in shock for example to see moscow university.. the conditions of many of its laboratory facilities was
like from third world countries in Africa. They could have good schools in terms of teachers and level of education..
But on facilities ,infrastructure and maintenance of things Russia rates like third world nations and thats quite sad.. whats wrong with Russia government that do not even have in good conditions what is supposed to be their best education building..   This is the reason nobody wants to join Russia.. and prefer to join Europe. Because they compare how modern and developed european nations look.. how good shape are their cities , specially their capitals specially the german and french speaking nations and is like planets of difference. I still believe is the Russia culture the problem... and their lack of experience in capitalism.. which is competition non stop between private business to get the attention of people and sale their products.  The first Rule in any private Business is Presentation.. Things that do not look good.. do not sell. the second rule is advertisement  , things not well promoted and presented never sell.   Is a real problem that will keep Russia always 2 step behind others.. for gaining enough influence world wide to become a world leader .  They have been lucky to have energy in abundance in the right place...  but if Russia had to compete in modern technology for the comfort of civilians or tourism they will go bankrupt. Their quality in general terms will never be on par with the west.  Not even Russians buys Russian cars.. they buy europeans ones or americans or koreans or japanese. .anything but Russian cars. To become a super power a country have to be Super Influential . And Russia is not in any way  influential to any nation..since even friendly nations to Russia do not want to be united to Russian economy block..  The only way Russia influence the west is with their military power ie Nukes and cheap Gas but thats it.  Russia lose a lot of business opportunities (lots of them) every year again and again for the same reasons.. for being seen as inferior quality over the west.  How could it be.. that leftist nations like Bolivia ,argentina and brazil prefer to buy European planes over Russian ones?  They all see with very positive eyes Russia ., but at the moment of truth that they need to spend in military hardware , they buy from europe or america. Sad but true..

Russia is a military superpower, a land, energy and resources one.
Its also a regional economic superpower.

With the Eurasian Union it can become one of several economic superpowers again.

The economic influence of the US is waning. To be replaced by half a dozen key players inc China.

Perhaps the winning ticket is Russia/the Eurasian Union and India.
Or maybe Russia/the Eurasian Union and the EU (America's nightmare!)

But Russia doesn't need to try and dominate the World. Merely protect the balance of power amongst various groups. And ensure its own interests across Europe, the Caucuses and Asia etc.

Its strengths are clear. Its potential weakness eg vs a China- Russia alliance etc are its lower manpower and economic muscle around the World.

A firmer alliance with India or the EU, or a Eurasian linkup would help that.

The Silk Road - Europe to China is important.
But perhaps the North South corridor - Moscow to India is even more important to Russia?

Perhaps Russia should spend more time developing ASEAN or African developments.
Both have vast labour pools and a potential to grow like China has.

To become a real superpower other than Energy and militarya and space program .. as Russia already is..
To be a real superpower Russia needs to become to be seen as a must visit place in the world , a top tourist attraction world wide. Need to develop in Movie Industry , Its Music Industry , and its Entertainment industry.. etc.
Design Good Cars also that everyone wants to buy in every price range. Develop its Tourism Industry..
Like a Russian Disney like world theme park.. Build Computers that everyone wants and gaming Consoles.
IF russia do half of that it will be a real world wide super power.. But for that they will need to develop its economy China level..and modernize its nation.. I think they can do it.. but in the near future like next decade ,not happening.

What a stupid definition of a super power...

I guess Rome was never a super power because they never sold TVs in Europe... but Taiwan is a super power because they have sold TVs in Europe....

Power is influence..
There are many ways nations can achieve influence on other nations and to convince them do the things you want.
One is militarily as was the roman empire.. and the other way to influence is by what you sell. What you have
to offer that others want. Taiwan is not a super power.. Nobody feels attracted to go there and what they offer is not unique either other produce it too. You cannot be powerful without influence.. and without influence no one will follow you or trust you.. and if a nation have no influence for anything they do.. then no one will be interested to be part of them.

japan is an entertainment super power and cars super power too.
Russia is a military super power.. and Space and energy super power.. thats where they are recognized world wide.
So they have military influence and energy influence too. .but they lack of entertainment influence and civilian technology influence.. (albeit their Yotaphone is a big step in the right direction). and their Marussia car too. All things a nation produce that everyone wants is an influence.. and that is power.. Because can influence others.  

There are also touristical powers..must visit places ,that everyone wants to go..
So the question will be like.. will Russia ever become super influential as USA is..
The answer will depend of Russian Government how they develop their nation.If they can
develop the things that people more like and feel more attracted , then they will be a complete super power.
For me that is if you are a man.. racing cars ,Computers , Video games and movies and music. and of course weapons.. reason why every man visit russia discussion forums  
For womens it will be fashion and fashion and shopping malls. lol but also smartphones music  etc..
But to be super influential is not necessary to do all.. Just the most interesting things.

USA, ignoring its government ,have nearly every thing that anyone could wish..the technology and the development in infrastructure  and this is the reason they are super influential for the world.. and they find so easy to lure other nations into their orbit.. Only less materialistic nations have avoided being lured into their club of friends.

but now this is changing big time.. You have Russia taking the role in space..and this is huge thing. and super cool.
They could become extremely influential by for example being the first to land in Mars with humans..or first with base in the moon..traveling to jupiter moons and showing live videos from there. etc.. Things like that will be very influential and will attract lots of scientist and engineers to work in Russia. and help them become less dependent on energy sales. More nuclear weapons will not make Russia more powerful ..but technology can. Personal Computers also could be a huge thing if they develop the software too.

I just think Russia should not waste too much time seeking to be a superpower, but I think the west shunning the Russians is a big step to make them develop their own Russian version of western things... which of course will be officially shunned by the west and derided as inferior by the western media, but i think there are enough in the west like myself that are sick of US government and media BS and the only reason we buy US stuff and consume US BS on TV and Movie and Music is because there has not really been much in the way of real viable alternatives.

A new Russian CPU and new Russian motherboard and RAM etc etc and I will build my own non US computer...with the internet I can buy it direct from Russia... (the main problem with living in NZ is that everyone gets a cut... books and music and other things are very expensive... go to apple tunes and put your location as NZ and you will pay an extra dollar for no reason... it doesn't cost extra to down load it here... but we are a small market and they get away with it because most kiwis are too nice.

Vann7 is to the point.

America is termed an economic superpower, because it is 300m people, a miliyart superpower, and leads the NATO bloc.

But half of America is poor- black, Latino and 70m or so actually in trailer parks I understand. Even tho half is prosperous.

Russia is 145m inside its borders. But with many more in nearby CIS members + non CIS states eg England, the Baltics etc.

If Russia leads a Eurasian Union/Customs Union is can equal America's population profile. Because that will mean Russia leading approx 300m people.

Furthermore, Russia could have a more formal alliance with places like Vietnam, Venezuela, Cuba, India and places. Whilst having stable relats with China etc. Even the ASEAN bloc could be part of an alliance.

Eurasian Union + India (or various other countries) are more than a match for all NATO in ec terms.
That way Russia is an economic superpower alongside anyone. Ofcourse it already is in military, political, tech, resources and energy terms.

It would help if Russia had a larger population. 250-300 mln.

But most of Russia is not habitable. if they manage to create a productive, densely populated areas in i.e. Yakutia, I will bow to them. It would mean that they're likely able to create colonies on Mars.

As Sa'iqa wrote:It would help if Russia had a larger population. 250-300 mln.

But most of Russia is not habitable. if they manage to create a productive, densely populated areas in i.e. Yakutia, I will bow to them. It would mean that they're likely able to create colonies on Mars.

Ahahaha. For some reason I found that funny. But it is true.

I was going through a photoblog of a town far north Siberia and a house in the photo was growing potatoes on permafrost. And the potatoes were looking quite healthy. I was surprised really.

Greenhouses seem to be the growing popularity in Russia. Greenhouses to grow veggies in colder climates all year round. They need to build more farm mega complexes to house animals during winter as well and Russia wont have to import meat (they will anyway to fight inflation).

Eventually 200M may be possible due to pop growth in Russia. Domestic birthrates are still low but there is quite the influx of foreigners moving to Russia. So this may be an issue to come. Some countries do well with a massive population, and some dont. I would wager that #1 difficulty for Russia is lack of low interest rate loans (due to CB screw up) and domestic companies whom have soviet legacy, not interested (or not investing) into their companies modernization (reducing overhead costs, not improving manufacturing process to have higher quality goods) and not interested in exportation, cause it would mean they would have to invest money into modernization to compete.

Firebird wrote:America is termed an economic superpower, because it is 300m people, a miliyart superpower, and leads the NATO bloc.

But half of America is poor- black, Latino and 70m or so actually in trailer parks I understand. Even tho half is prosperous.

Russia is 145m inside its borders. But with many more in nearby CIS members + non CIS states eg England, the Baltics etc.

If Russia leads a Eurasian Union/Customs Union is can equal America's population profile. Because that will mean Russia leading approx 300m people.

Furthermore, Russia could have a more formal alliance with places like Vietnam, Venezuela, Cuba, India and places. Whilst having stable relats with China etc. Even the ASEAN bloc could be part of an alliance.

Eurasian Union + India (or various other countries) are more than a match for all NATO in ec terms.
That way Russia is an economic superpower alongside anyone. Ofcourse it already is in military, political, tech, resources and energy terms.

Popln is what I'm looking.

People talk about the USA as being 300m, but vast parts of that aren't at superpower level.
They are poor blacks, Mexican skivvies in menial work, or whites in trailer parks. Probaby half of the 300m or more.

Russia+ the CIS is equivalent to the whole of the USA. Russia is like the wealthier half of America. And the other CIS is like the poorer US half.

Even the rich part of America, its debateable as to who is actually creating, and who is consuming.

American GDP is largely air ie components being counted too many times to be a useful figure. It has rich and poor. But in pure economic terms, the sums no longer add up for it to be the dominant power.

__________________________________________________
Even China with its 1.4bn only has a fraction of that at superpower stds of living.

To me, the CIS and India would combine everything needed for a superpower. Population, military, tech etc. The other poles would be NATO and China.

Well I just think Russia should decide what it wants and do it.

It should not try to copy the US because the US fundamentally is fucked up.

the sad reality of democracy and capitalism is that the system is broken in favour of the rich.

You get a better financial return with capital than you do from hard work... and that is a fact.

In other words you can make rather more money by already being rich and using that money to make more money than actually going out and getting a job and working hard all your life.


What Russia should do is develop technology for itself... I am not talking self isolation... sell products to the rest of the world. When countries trade with Russia they wont have Russian ideology shoved down their throat... they wont be asked to join invasions of countries that never did their country any harm, and they wont end the project feeling used and abused... and they will make a bit of money out of the contract too.

Just saw a replay of Top Gear in Africa and they were driving through Uganda on exceptional roads... roads built by Chinese companies in some sort of deal. Where are all the wonderful roads the European companies have built there? Hint "they don't exist".

Western "charity" to Africa tends to lead to western control of African states, and western companies getting contracts to spend that western money. The most african countries get is bribe money for the party in power which all goes to swiss bank accounts no doubt and the poor get poorer. At least with the Chinese bribe of roads the local population benefit and their situation improves.

GarryB wrote:Well I just think Russia should decide what it wants and do it.

It should not try to copy the US because the US fundamentally is fucked up.

the sad reality of democracy and capitalism is that the system is broken in favour of the rich.

You get a better financial return with capital than you do from hard work... and that is a fact.

In other words you can make rather more money by already being rich and using that money to make more money than actually going out and getting a job and working hard all your life.

Which makes it to a kleptocracy and not a democracy. Democracy means the majorit dictate over the minority and we all know that was never present anywhere and never will be. Democracy is an Utopia.

Well, in my opinion. Russia has all the cards to truly become a superpower.
Russia already is a superpower in the military area, and when the subject is natural and energy resources and space tecnology.
Furthermore, Russia has all the potential to become a superpower in the area of food production, and in a lot of other tecnologies, because you have a really high level educated population.
For me there are only two issues that Russia has to solve. You need to have a bigger population, with at least 200 million people, or with 250 million people, which I think is the best alternative. This population can be reached with the Eurasion Union, including half of Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekstan, Tajitiskan, Kyrgystan and possibly Iran. And You need to diversify your economy, because Russia is too much dependent on oil and gas.
At least, I think Mr. Putin is on the right side, because the only chance that Russia has to become a real superpower is outside the area of influence of the anglo suck suns world, which envolves America, Canada, possibly Mexico, most partes of Europe, Japan and Australia.
This episody envolving the crises in Ukraine really shows that this club don't want to respect Russia or treat Russia like a real partner.
But the world is changing, the economy in the Eurozone is not growing anymore, and Russia has to look to the part of the World that really groes now in the economic part and in population. Then You have countries like the BRICS, and Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam, that in the near future are going to have economies as powerfull as the European countries. And You have all the other countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Middle East that just want to do business, and that see Russia as a reliable partner which doesn't want to impose their doctrines to the others countries like America, and the United Kindgon of the real fags, and as conservative power that really wants to stabilize the world, and do business with anyone else, improving the conditions of his population, without gettting troubles elsewhere.
That's my humble opinion.
God bless Russian Federation and Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

GustavoHF wrote:Well, in my opinion. Russia has all the cards to truly become a superpower.
Russia already is a superpower in the military area, and when the subject is natural and energy resources and space tecnology.
Furthermore, Russia has all the potential to become a superpower in the area of food production, and in a lot of other tecnologies, because you have a really high level educated population.
For me there are only two issues that Russia has to solve. You need to have a bigger population, with at least 200 million people, or with 250 million people, which I think is the best alternative. This population can be reached with the Eurasion Union, including half of Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekstan, Tajitiskan, Kyrgystan and possibly Iran. And You need to diversify your economy, because Russia is too much dependent on oil and gas.
At least, I think Mr. Putin is on the right side, because the only chance that Russia has to become a real superpower is outside the area of influence of the anglo suck suns world, which envolves America, Canada, possibly Mexico, most partes of Europe, Japan and Australia.
This episody envolving the crises in Ukraine really shows that this club don't want to respect Russia or treat Russia like a real partner.
But the world is changing, the economy in the Eurozone is not growing anymore, and Russia has to look to the part of the World that really groes now in the economic part and in population. Then You have countries like the BRICS, and Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam, that in the near future are going to have economies as powerfull as the European countries. And You have all the other countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Middle East that just want to do business, and that see Russia as a reliable partner which doesn't want to impose their doctrines to the others countries like America, and the United Kindgon of the real fags, and as conservative power that really wants to stabilize the world, and do business with anyone else, improving the conditions of his population, without gettting troubles elsewhere.
That's my humble opinion.
God bless Russian Federation and Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Indeed .. but Russia cannot increase its population by just opening its borders to muslins dominated nations.. Russia wants to continue being Christian and lets be honest.. whether you are religious or not , Islam is a step backward in any nation. What i will do if i was Putin.. is to give free Visa to all Latin America.. those are christian and that will significantly help the Russian population. Growth.. 300 millions population should be more than enough for Russia. One of  best thing about Russia is the huge land with so many undeveloped totally empty areas of nature.. and that th that you could just go to a camping and live in the wilderness forever and no one is going to arrest or kill you for camping there.. Same could not be said about US.. that is illegal to camp in the forest they have without permission.you could even be killed by police if you camp in a park..and you are poor. or arrested by police if you give food to poor people..  I even read that Russia give free land.. to people.. So this is huge thing.. The you make a nice house near a river with internet and cable and you will have the best of both world.. best of nature and best of technology ,if you desire or just go into the busyness of a city is that your main thing. So one of best features of Russia is that the government will not be harassing you so much with a million of rules or laws.. USA have become a totalitarian dictatorship state and people arrested for any little silly thing .

for example here .. a girl arrested for jaywalking..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_E1oR5Dh4o

here a man arrested for walking with hands in his pocket..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZM9I7Psxs

and this one TR1 will love it..  a 90 year old man arrested for giving food poor people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTU6DwU1q2E

If you are poor in USA and don't live in an elite wealthy neighborhood ,you could be killed or arrested for anything.
THe US government prefer to see poor people dead on the streets and than they been feed.
US have become a scary nation to live even more than north korea..The government have become now a totalitarian dictatorship and that don't exist anymore to serve its people but control them..And the sad thing is that is going to get worse.. with Laws already being pushed to have cameras inside your house..so the government can spy you.. how you behave in your house.  

Russia should get North Korea and South korea to make a peace deal and create a trade block with both...
and kick US military bases from there. and create an economic block between China ,Both Koreas ,India but also Latin america. and develop a new internet with their own Computer and Software.. South Korea is an entertainment major online power with a very decent car industry.also big shipyards for cargo ships..
.India have world best programmers and really good scientist and China can now copy any electronics that US produce.. including Iphones.TVs and probably can reproduce consoles too..Russia provide the energy and space technology and defense. Between all of the ,could produce all the things that the west have. A military super block with all the energy they need with all the rare materials and resources for technology ,all the entertainment ,cars etc..all the electronics civilians could desire for a home and Computers with software and aplications. After the trade block is success ,you will be sure Japan will be tempted to join ,that will mean the end of US presence in Asia.   when it comes to africa ,and middle east , i don't see a chance for them. .until they quit Islam which is the source of all their religious fight .

The current situation is the result of all the propaganda about foreigners that Americans (and Canadians) are subjected to
24/7 year round. Americans are taught from birth that they are singularly democratic and exceptional. No other country can
compare in terms of freedom and democracy. All the badness is "over there" and all the goodness is "right here in the USA".
This creates a massive gap for all sorts of rot to set in. If you accuse local officials of acting like 3rd world goons and even
if you are 100% correct, the sheeple will not take you seriously. "Everyone knows" that everywhere else it is "worse".

I think the amount of hypocrisy emanating from the USA is a direct metric of its own decay. The shittier the US becomes
the more crap it spews at Russia and others. It is deliberate "guilt transfer" and diversion. If the sheeple can be kept in
fear of and in hate for "them foreigners" then those that have the money and power can feel safe and not worry that they
will be removed for gross abuses.

Vann7 wrote:

GustavoHF wrote:Well, in my opinion. Russia has all the cards to truly become a superpower.
Russia already is a superpower in the military area, and when the subject is natural and energy resources and space tecnology.
Furthermore, Russia has all the potential to become a superpower in the area of food production, and in a lot of other tecnologies, because you have a really high level educated population.
For me there are only two issues that Russia has to solve. You need to have a bigger population, with at least 200 million people, or with 250 million people, which I think is the best alternative. This population can be reached with the Eurasion Union, including half of Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekstan, Tajitiskan, Kyrgystan and possibly Iran. And You need to diversify your economy, because Russia is too much dependent on oil and gas.
At least, I think Mr. Putin is on the right side, because the only chance that Russia has to become a real superpower is outside the area of influence of the anglo suck suns world, which envolves America, Canada, possibly Mexico, most partes of Europe, Japan and Australia.
This episody envolving the crises in Ukraine really shows that this club don't want to respect Russia or treat Russia like a real partner.
But the world is changing, the economy in the Eurozone is not growing anymore, and Russia has to look to the part of the World that really groes now in the economic part and in population. Then You have countries like the BRICS, and Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam, that in the near future are going to have economies as powerfull as the European countries. And You have all the other countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Middle East that just want to do business, and that see Russia as a reliable partner which doesn't want to impose their doctrines to the others countries like America, and the United Kindgon of the real fags, and as conservative power that really wants to stabilize the world, and do business with anyone else, improving the conditions of his population, without gettting troubles elsewhere.
That's my humble opinion.
God bless Russian Federation and Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Indeed .. but Russia cannot increase its population by just opening its borders to muslins dominated nations.. Russia wants to continue being Christian and lets be honest.. whether you are religious or not , Islam is a step backward in any nation. What i will do if i was Putin.. is to give free Visa to all Latin America.. those are christian and that will significantly help the Russian population. Growth.. 300 millions population should be more than enough for Russia. One of  best thing about Russia is the huge land with so many undeveloped totally empty areas of nature.. and that th that you could just go to a camping and live in the wilderness forever and no one is going to arrest or kill you for camping there.. Same could not be said about US.. that is illegal to camp in the forest they have without permission.you could even be killed by police if you camp in a park..and you are poor. or arrested by police if you give food to poor people..  I even read that Russia give free land.. to people.. So this is huge thing.. The you make a nice house near a river with internet and cable and you will have the best of both world.. best of nature and best of technology ,if you desire or just go into the busyness of a city is that your main thing. So one of best features of Russia is that the government will not be harassing you so much with a million of rules or laws.. USA have become a totalitarian dictatorship state and people arrested for any little silly thing .

for example here .. a girl arrested for jaywalking..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_E1oR5Dh4o

here a man arrested for walking with hands in his pocket..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRZM9I7Psxs

and this one TR1 will love it..  a 90 year old man arrested for giving food poor people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTU6DwU1q2E

If you are poor in USA and don't live in an elite wealthy neighborhood ,you could be killed or arrested for anything.
THe US government prefer to see poor people dead on the streets and than they been feed.
US have become a scary nation to live even more than north korea..The government have become now a totalitarian dictatorship and that don't exist anymore to serve its people but control them..And the sad thing is that is going to get worse.. with Laws already being pushed to have cameras inside your house..so the government can spy you.. how you behave in your house.  

Russia should get North Korea and South korea to make a peace deal and create a trade block with both...
and kick US military bases from there. and create an economic block between China ,Both Koreas ,India but also Latin america. and develop a new internet with their own Computer and Software.. South Korea is an entertainment major online power with a very decent car industry.also big shipyards for cargo ships..
.India have world best programmers and really good scientist and China can now copy any electronics that US produce.. including Iphones.TVs and probably can reproduce consoles too..Russia provide the energy and space technology and defense. Between all of the ,could produce all the things that the west have. A military super block with all the energy they need with all the rare materials and resources for technology ,all the entertainment ,cars etc..all the electronics civilians could desire for a home and Computers with software and aplications. After the trade block is success ,you will be sure Japan will be tempted to join ,that will mean the end of US presence in Asia.   when it comes to africa ,and middle east , i don't see a chance for them. .until they quit Islam which is the source of all their religious fight .

The first thing that Russia has to do now, is to win this economic warfare that the US and Saudi Arabia are imposing with the downfall of the oil prices.

I'm not talking about the fall of the rouble, because Russia has all the resources to fight against it. As Putin said, Russia has the reserves to support the rouble for at least two years.

But if Russia, is able to mantain a firm attitud towards Ukraine, despite all sanctions, and all the BS from America and the EU, it will show that a new economic model is possibly. And that the development of a country depends really of hard working and the defense of his sovereignty, and not of a magic formula, in which you have to agree with all the BS that America and EU talk. In this case, Russia will be able to attract a lot of Eurosceptics, like people in Hungary, Grecce, Italy, France, Austria and Bulgaria. If Russia doesn't achieve this new partners, at lest will show to the partners of the Eurasian Union and from the Asia Pacific Area, like Vietnam, China, India, Iran, Syria and Indonesia that this is the right way to get along with the west.

About the population, I think that Russia must try to attract all the Christian of these middle east countries, like Syria, Lebanon, Iraq that are under attack. Russia must show them that is ready to receive all this people, and to defend the christianity around the globe. I don'i know how many christians live in the middle east, but I think that this is a good start.

Then Russia must try to attract ortodox people that live in countries, like Serbia, Grecce, Georgia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Bulgaria and Catholics from countries that do not agree with a Eurpean Continent that sees his own islimazation without reacting.

I agree with what You think about some muslins, but I can't see how Russia will have a population of 250 or 300 million people, without the countries from Central Asia.

At last, I think that Russia must try to achieve some real peace deals between the two Koreas, countries like India and Pakistan and people that is fighting in Syria, including the rebels and the Government to crush ISIS without the intervention of other countries. It would really show that Russia is a real conservative power, that doesn't want to dominate the world, but only to take care of his own business and to stablilize the World.

For immigration I would certainly welcome Christians from the Middle East, South Americans, and Europeans but at the same time I'm not really against anyone else either.

Right now the single largest group of immigrants in Russia are Central Asian Muslims; with the Tajiks and Uzbeks taking the lead; but from my experience with them they are largely peaceful, quiet people who actually don't do a bad job of integrating in Russian society; any observed social separation between them and native Russians are largely the result of them being separated from Russians by class; being largely poor laborers w/o higher education, and sometimes with a poor command of Russian; as opposed to their corresponding generation in Russia - over 54% of who do have higher-education diplomas and in the affluent cities especially; are increasingly middle class and with a far higher amount of disposable income than your average working-class Central Asian Muslim.

But when it comes to comparing Russians and Central Asians both from the middle class and with higher-education; they are very much assimilated/integrated and there is little observed difference, they intermix and intermingle with no problems at all. Religion does not come into it at all.

That they are Muslim is really not an issue; one can be as much, or as least pious as one wants yet that has little to do with their political sympathies, law-abidance or anything else.
It might be an issue in the West; given that they are taking in people from the very same places they are bombing and setting off against each other. If I was from one of those places, whether by origin or just by heritage - I wouldn't have much love for Europe and America either.

Of course though it won't do to open the flood doors for immigrants; one has to be sensitive to the concerns of the local population and certainly there is some alarm over Muslim immigration; given the whole background of the war in Chechnya and all the problems with the ex-Soviet Muslim republics, it's understandable.

There are a certain amount of immigrants or workers here from some other Muslim countries; such as Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, etc... by far and large; they make no less effort to integrate then anyone else, reach a decent proficiency in Russian and don't go about breaking the law. I don't want Russia to be flooded with immigrants from the Muslim world, but then I don't want Russia to be flooded with immigrants from any other one place either; even from our 'brother Slav' countries such as the Ukraine.
The key concept here is balance, and controlled immigration; making sure that immigrants who want to make a living or earn money here are encouraged to go to areas with a shortage of labour, not an abundance of it where they'll just add to locals' irritation.
If they come with skills or some specialization, those should be taken advantage of and a government program should be set-up to help put them to appropriate use in companies partnering in the program; instead of having a situation where someone with a degree or who finished an academy ends up cleaning dishes, because no Russian employer is willing to give a job to an immigrant w/o local registration or don't take their experience seriously.
If they come without any skills; then that's fine too, but there should be some sort of program available that would allow them to specialize and learn a trade. If they didn't have the chance to enter higher-education for some reason and they show promise & intelligence, there should be a chance for them to do so in Russia.
Lastly, workplaces alone are not enough, it is necessary to make sure that there are sanitary living conditions available for immigrants too; even if its just some well-kept dormitories, so as to avoid the spread of disease and various social ills - but of course only for those migrant workers who either secured work or are making a serious effort to try and do so.

I think much of the problem in developed countries is not due to immigration itself as such, but the lack of investment into immigration; or in certain cases misguided investment. If you invest into people and do it wisely, you can reap the benefits as much as from investing in any monetary asset. Russia and Russian society can potentially profit hugely from immigrants.
When you give a family from Africa a flat to live in so they can live on benefits and not have to work, all at the expense of the taxpayer - that's not proper investment, it's very much the wrong approach.
My idea is that everyone, absolutely everyone who comes to Russia should be given the same opportunities & rights as those afforded to any Russian citizen - but only if they prove themselves willing to work hard, learn the law, follow the law and so on.

Im just throwing this out there why doesnt russia try to strengthen alliances with mexico and help them deal with the cartels

The US already has very strong ties with Mexico.. I doubt they would ignore Russians efforts to win over Mexico.

it shouldn't be a big problem really or would it im thinking it wouldnt

Well on paper the US should not have gotten all twitchy about the Soviets basing intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba... after all the US had jupiter missiles in Turkey that are the width of the Black sea from Moscow... which is far closer than Cuban missiles would be to washington or the pentagon.

The simple facts are however they went to pieces.

There is no way they would stand by and let Russia have good relations with Mexico...

If things there keep up they way they are they may not have a choice in that

mx109 wrote:Im just throwing this out there why doesnt russia try to strengthen alliances with mexico and help them deal with the cartels

Because mexican government fears US retaliation. MExican presidents understand that the American CIA and its anti drug agencies are the biggest traffickers of Drugs in USA..They don't want US to start flooding mexico with NGOs and terrorist and repeat a Syrian fake revolution in mexico. And this is not mentioning how US could easily give weapons to Drug cartels. They can however ask for technology and weapons to be more efficient, to counter drugs and intelligence.

TR1 and other fanboys of the "land of freedom" will love this.. Not conspiracy theories.. but a major scandal in USA for CIA busted helping drug cartels.  and US arming criminals in Nicaragua (just like they doing in Syria today) to overthrow a legitimate government that was friendly to Russia.



So Mexico well knows they have a very dangerous neighbor at their borders ,and prefer to just look to the sides.
Honestly is hard to say if they are doing the right thing or not.. because if you don't have a united country , US could destroy it in no time ,the Ukrainian way.  You bet.. that the white house who is always planning how to increase its empire ,will have a plan B and Plan C and hundreds more, to overthrow any Mexican government that seeks a military alliance with Russia and ask for Russia military bases. Mexico shares a big border with US , and it requires
a major nation unity with very educated society ,with a very strong economy to become a fully independent nation in Mexico..  Look at Russia how  US is attacking their currency.. This is the reason most latin countries prefer to look to the sides.. since do not have the capabilities to resist a US offense. By the way.. the american journalist Gary webbs who uncovered the story of US Government drug trafficing was murdered later ,in a very violent way .  US have a multibillionaire business in Drug trafficing.. and they use their military bases today to bypass any country security.
in argentina the government was not impressed and ordered its police to inspect their airforce transport plane and found cocaine bags. In afganistan NATO traffic Heroine and the money goes to Generals and politicians pockets.
That say the level of corruption in US gov..is mind blowing.. movies fall short of their actions.

Well that is no news that CIA is the worlds biggest distributor of drugs, it is actually an opium war British Empire style like.

Afghanistan exists only today for one purpose, poppy fields are protected by US soldiers at all costs, yes all costs, they have made several defense lines around poppy fields so that Taliban can not destroy them which the islamists do not like drugs and after invasion in 2001 the global market share of afghanistans opium was less than 1%, today under control of USA of afghanistans poppy fields it is higher than 94% and that was in 2012, today it should be even higher. The purpose is to undermine societies of unwanted governments, that is why lot of the afghany drugs go to China, Russia, Iran, South Africa and also dragged to ME countries.

The CIA also created an entire Airline "Air America" for one purpose for legally under deplomatic immunity to transfer drugs into the entire world without being controlled by any government at airports.


https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/winter99-00/art7.html