Once again, the Caucasus rumble with the barking of Georgian and Russian arms. Ukraine stands defiant against Russian sabre-rattling. This is life in the old Russian Empire of course! One which is slowly rebuilding through snake-like oil pipelines which are slithering it's way into Europe.
Russia controls over a quater of the world's natural gas and 6-10% of the world's oil and Europe's 700+ million people are in dire need of energy resources. Russia can comply with them however putting too much trust in Russia puts the continent in peril and hobbles it's long-term goals in relation to Russia. In fact, Prime Minister Putin wrote a thesis about using energy as a tool for foreign policy. This is something that countries like Ukraine have experienced when Russia levies gas embargoes against it.
One can easily blame Russia as a vengeful power and it has a reason to be. When the USSR fell the economy collapsed and crooks took over it from the shadows of the Black Market. Death rates for infants and young adults the same time Chechens fought a guerilla war against the Russian Federation. The demographic tumble that Russia is facing is close to unprecedented. Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Alcoholism cause close to 1 million Russians die without being replaced in their population per year and that's not a problem that Gazprom can fix.
Russian grievances against the West, particularily NATO augment when anti-missile defence systems, the Serbian War, US troops in Central Asia, the Iraq War, Colour Revolutions and the independance of Kosovo are remembered. I'm not saying that Russia is right about these issues, it's not wrong about any of them either. It's just that Russians feel when they were weak under the control of a drunk (Boris Yeltsin) they were abused and taken advantage of (which is quite right). All these problems exacerbate when the Caucasian powder-keg especially Georgia is recalled.
Although Russia was successful, it's economy almost 'tanked' on it and old problems didn't disappear such as US encroachment unto the Russian near-abroad. Russia's one trick pony isn't a wonder drug to the Russian illness of stagnation considering that domestic consumption with oil will compete with European demands, European diversification of Energy and possible energy demand from the People's Republic of China. With it's only commodity being energy, Russia could soon find itself being the Slavic Arabia of Eurasia. It might be wealthy, but only the autocratic elites who right now are building Swiss bank accounts with help from the Kremlin will benefit. It's young people will be unemployed since the resource curse shall take hold and its demographic decline coupled with the rise of minorites (especially Muslims in Russia) will force Russia's hand and further weaken the state.
Russia controls over a quater of the world's natural gas and 6-10% of the world's oil and Europe's 700+ million people are in dire need of energy resources. Russia can comply with them however putting too much trust in Russia puts the continent in peril and hobbles it's long-term goals in relation to Russia. In fact, Prime Minister Putin wrote a thesis about using energy as a tool for foreign policy. This is something that countries like Ukraine have experienced when Russia levies gas embargoes against it.
One can easily blame Russia as a vengeful power and it has a reason to be. When the USSR fell the economy collapsed and crooks took over it from the shadows of the Black Market. Death rates for infants and young adults the same time Chechens fought a guerilla war against the Russian Federation. The demographic tumble that Russia is facing is close to unprecedented. Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Alcoholism cause close to 1 million Russians die without being replaced in their population per year and that's not a problem that Gazprom can fix.
Russian grievances against the West, particularily NATO augment when anti-missile defence systems, the Serbian War, US troops in Central Asia, the Iraq War, Colour Revolutions and the independance of Kosovo are remembered. I'm not saying that Russia is right about these issues, it's not wrong about any of them either. It's just that Russians feel when they were weak under the control of a drunk (Boris Yeltsin) they were abused and taken advantage of (which is quite right). All these problems exacerbate when the Caucasian powder-keg especially Georgia is recalled.
Although Russia was successful, it's economy almost 'tanked' on it and old problems didn't disappear such as US encroachment unto the Russian near-abroad. Russia's one trick pony isn't a wonder drug to the Russian illness of stagnation considering that domestic consumption with oil will compete with European demands, European diversification of Energy and possible energy demand from the People's Republic of China. With it's only commodity being energy, Russia could soon find itself being the Slavic Arabia of Eurasia. It might be wealthy, but only the autocratic elites who right now are building Swiss bank accounts with help from the Kremlin will benefit. It's young people will be unemployed since the resource curse shall take hold and its demographic decline coupled with the rise of minorites (especially Muslims in Russia) will force Russia's hand and further weaken the state.
The fifth Russian Empire doesn't look to prosperous to me. The first fell to the Mongols, the second was ravaged by Ivan the Terrible, the Third was shocked by war with the Japanese and the German, the Fourth was bankrupted by the Free-Market, the Fifth will enslave itself and fall victim to its own avarice. Welcome to Slavic Arabia.
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