Russia is
a Western Civilization-based, Christian, Slavic, European country that spans
across northern Asia. Europe’s interest in Asia began with trade. The US was
colonized by Europeans and shares this history. But US history over the past
400 years has been markedly different.
Napoleon
invaded Russia in 1812 using the $15 million he got from the US for the
Louisiana Purchase, Napoleon occupied Moscow, but retreated back to France.
Germany invaded Russia in 1914. The devastation of World War I in Russia set
the stage for ending the Russian Monarchy in 1917. The Communist Revolution
prompted the civil war that raged from 1918 to 1922 when the USSR was
established.
Germany
invaded Russia again in 1941. Russia stopped the German advance in 1943 and
pushed the German Army back to Berlin in 1945 to surrender.
The USSR
had its purges from 1936 to 1938 and retook Eastern Europe in 1945 by refusing
to leave. The USSR became a nuclear power in 1949 and sponsored Communist
revolutions across the globe from 1950 to 1989 when the USSR was dissolved and
became the Russian Federation in 1991.
Over the
past 28 years from 1991 to 2019, Russia has focused on developing and growing
its free market economy Russia is a major producer and exporter of oil and
natural gas. It has retained its manufacturing, mining and resource extraction
industries.Russia developed space capabilities and continues to develop
technology. Russia is succeeding with very little help from the US.
The US
and Russia agree on big issues. Russia and the US do not intend to abandon
fossil fuels or obey the UN. Both countries support strong borders, national
sovereignty and national free market economies and are competitors exporting
fossil fuels. European politicians are slowly agreeing with us. The US has a
trade surplus with Russia.
The US
imposed sanctions on Russia for military intervention in Ukraine in 2014 that
are still in place and Ukraine has a failing economy. Russia trades with Iran
and buys oil from Venezuela. Russia is trapped by its alliances with Syria and
Iran and its proximity to China.
Russia is
located in northern Asia. Russia is bordered by the Arctic Ocean; Azerbaijan,
China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Lithuania, Mongolia, and Poland to the
south; Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, and Ukraine to the west; and Norway and
Finland to the north.
Russia is
bordered by poor countries with low Nominal Per Capita GDP and their Nominal
GDP is extremely dependent on oil and natural gas exports.
Nominal
Per Capita GDP of Russia and its bordering neighbors ranges from low to high as
follows:
North
Korea $???
Ukraine
$2,963
Mongolia
$4,026
Georgia
$4,400
Azerbaijan
$4,569
Belarus
$6,306
Kazakhstan
$9,237
China
$9,608
Russia
$11,327
Poland
$15,431
Latvia
$18,032
Lithuania
$19,881
Estonia
$22,990
Finland
$45,703
Norway
$81,695
Nominal
Per Capita GDP of former USSR countries, Russia’s trading partners and other
neighbors and allied countries includes:
Uzbekistan
$1,263
Kyrgyzstan
$1,268
Pakistan
$1,555
Venezuela
$3,374
Moldova
$3,218
Armenia
$4,169
Kosovo
$4,403
Georgia
$4,400
Albania
$5,289
Iran
$5,491
Bosnia
$5,674
Turkministan
$7,546
Bulgaria
$9,267
Turkey
$9,346
Romania
$12,285
Criatia
$14,816
Hungary
$15,924
Slovakia
$19,582
Czech
Republis $22,850
Slovenia
$26,243
IMF
estinate of Per Capita GDP by Country
Russia
deals with high poverty countries like Syria 82.5%, Armenia 32%, Tajikastan
31%, Kyrgyzstan 32.1% Ukraine 24.1%, Lithuania 22.2%, Estonia 21.3%, Moldovia
20.8%, Venesuela ???%,
Russia
has an extensive amount of natural resources. These resources include major
fossil fuel deposits of oil, natural gas and coal. The country also has timber
and many strategic minerals.
Russia
has numerous natural hazards. These include volcanoes and earthquakes on the
Kamchatka Peninsula, and volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands. In addition,
there are spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and
in parts of European Russia. Permafrost is a major obstacle to the development
of most areas of Siberia.:
Russia
has numerous environmental issues. Issues concerning the land and water
include: deforestation; soil erosion; contaminated soil from improper
application of agricultural chemicals; stocks of outdated pesticides, which
have been abandoned; scattered areas of radioactive contamination (sometimes
intense); lack of urban solid waste management; groundwater contamination from
toxic waste; pollution of the inland waterways and seacoasts, due to
agricultural, municipal, and industrial effluents. The country also has air
pollution from heavy industry, the emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and
transportation in major cities.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment