Re-arming the Russian Bear

In a prior entry, we looked at some of the aggressive posturing of Russia and wondered what it meant for the political future of the world.

Well, Putin hasn't slowed down. On 28 June 2007, MSNBC (and most other news outlets) reported a successful test of a new, Russian nuclear missile design, the Bulava M. It will be "seaborn," has a 6,200 mile range, and carry six warheads. Of course, "seaborn" means they ride around in a submarine, silent, very difficult to find, and able to suddenly show up at your doorstep without warning.

Yes, I know what you are thinking. A new missle? Do the Russians even have a sub that runs? With all the economic turmoil in Russia, can they scrape together enough coin to build anything new? I wondered the same things and did some checking. For years now it has been assumed that everything in the Russian military has been incapable of functioning.
In a flashback to Stalinist days of choosing weapons over food for the proletariat, Putin has in fact built a brand new ballistic missile submarine, or "boomer" for those of us who grew up reading Tom Clancy. Bellona.com wrote in December of 2004 that hull testing of a new submarine had been completed at the Sevmash shipyards. The Yury Dolgoruky would be the first of a new line of submarines, the Borey class, and completion was expected to be in 2006.

In April of 2007 Defense-Update.com wrote that the launch of the Yury Dolgoruky at Svemash was imminent and sea testing would go through 2008. Considering the speed at which government works, especially communist (face it, Russia is still communist) governments, they didn't miss the 2006 deadline by too much. D-U ends their article saying another two more Borey class subs are currently in production, with a fourth in the planning stages.
Building a brand new nuclear weapon and four brand new submarines in which to stick said brand new nuclear weapon goes a bit beyond the typical saber rattling for a country as strapped for money as Russia. This is a direct and deliberate move by Putin to put teeth back into the jaws of the Russian Bear.

Russia is in a terrible situation. They have no money, they don't have the means to develop their natural resources, they are in desperate need of oil, and they feel they have lost face with the world. At one time they were a great, ok, large, empire that made other countries quake. Russia give billions in supplies and arms to their allies and were capable of such destructive power that to make a move against Russia would be signing a suicide pact. Now, the old men who once looked forward to wielding such power and living in disappointment, eager to have the stature they were promised long ago. The younger men look back on the Cold War days with nostalgia, listening to the stories of when Russia towered over the West.

On top ego and poverty, Russia is also struggling with an emptiness, a void where the soul of their people once was. No matter your outlook or view of religion, Russia stands testament as the first society who actively lived with no belief in the spiritual. The back of the people has been broken and their is no faith for them to lean on. Apathy and despondence affect almost every aspect of their lives and the birth rate has fallen past the point where researchers believe a country can maintain it's own identity.

When a man like Putin surveys a landscape as barren as Russia, the response will be a forceful one. You make the world bow down, you grab your people and your enemies by the throat and you throttle them until they do what you want. Bush can be a star crossed lover and gaze into Putin's eyes as much as he wants, but when we call such men compassionate and trustworthy, we give them opportunity and space to do what they wish unmolested.

I'll end this with another bit of information for you to chew on. On 14 July, 2007, AXcessNews.com (amongst others) reported that Russia has pulled out of a key European Union treaty limiting the number of conventional forces a country can raise. Behind the new missiles and submarines, we have a growing army. How many countries have ever built up an army without the intent to use it?