Despite being one of the most powerful countries in the world, Russia has at least four weak points: demographics, economy, geographical location and its complicated international situation, according to the Chinese internet portal Sohu.
“First and foremost, it is population size-related problems that have always mattered in Russia,” Soho noted.
The news outlet specifically referred to World War II, which left a disproportionately high number of males dead in the then-USSR, as well as the consequences of the Soviet Union’s disintegration in 1991.
“Russia has an area of 17.07 million square kilometres, while the country’s population stands at about 140 million people, which is out of line with status of a world power,” Soho asserts.
According to Soho, another of Russia's weak spots is its inability to manage a multi-cultural population. The country is paying the price for this, because the differences between people of different ethnic groups, as well as religious differences, “pose a hidden threat to internal stability”.
Adding to Russia’s weak points are the legacy of the Soviet economy and the country’s poor geographical location, Soho claims, adding, “now that economic development has come to the fore, Russia, with its weak economy, is doomed to fail.”
Last but not least is the current tense international situation, according to Sohu, which predicts that Russia, as the arch-foe of the United States, will continue to face pressure from Washington in the future.
US-Russia Relations at Low Point
Last month, Sohu argued that it is Russia’s nuclear potential that prevents the US from attacking Russia and that Washington continues to fear Moscow, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“In the coming decades, the United States will not even dare to cast a glance toward Russia [in terms of a potential attack],” Soho noted.
According to the anti-war NGO ploughshares.org, as of October 2019, Russia and the United States possess the lion's share of the world's nuclear arsenal: Russia possesses 6,490 (46.8%) of the world's 13,860 nuclear weapons, while the US possesses only 6,185 (44.6%).
Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told The Wall Street Journal that the relations between the US and Russia are at their most dangerous point and much lower than at any period since the worst days of the Cold War.
Over the past five years, the US has imposed numerous rounds of punitive measures against Russia, accusing Moscow of interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs, as well as meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.
Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and reacted with countermeasures against those Western nations that have targeted it with sanctions.
