The History of Russia’s Future

The harsh policies that have allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to maintain a stranglehold on Russia have ensured the country’s decline. As 2013 begins, Russia is back on its treadmill of history, treating the past as prologue – and thus wasting its resources and blighting its people's lives.

MOSCOW – Strategic vision has never been a Russian attribute, and it certainly was absent in 2012. Russia’s vast territory continually seems to obscure for its leaders the need to plan for the future, while its seemingly infinite supply of natural resources convinces them that the country can handle any contingency.

As a result, Russia is perpetually unprepared for the future. Indeed, just as its leaders failed to prepare for the fall of communism, the softening of the Russian economy shows that they are poorly equipped for the coming decades, which will be characterized by depleted resources, a declining population, and shrinking territory.

Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency this year marked a new low for Russian strategic vision. After all, the past is the only future that Putin has ever wanted for the country.

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