As the repercussions of President Putin’s State of the Nation address sink in, it is useful to highlight those words in the address which set out Russian thinking on international relations, and which explain Russian actions, including first and foremost the military build up President Putin discussed during the address.
On 8th February 2018 I wrote an article for The Duran discussing the US military’s recently published Nuclear Posture Review.
I said that this was a deeply pessimistic document, in which the US military admitted that the US’s ‘unipolar moment’ had passed, with the US once again and for the first time since the end of the Cold War facing Great Power challenges, this time from Russia and China, together with a nuclear arms race in which it is losing ground principally to Russia.
By far the greater part of President Putin’s State of the Nation address on 1st March 2018 was devoted to economic issues. However inevitably it was the part of his address which touched on new weapons systems which attracted the most attention.
Here they are
(1) Sarmat heavy ICBM
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Ceremonial parade ahead of the State of the Nation Address in South Africa, February 16, 2018 [GCIS]
As analysts told The BRICS Post in mid-December, the recall of President Jacob Zuma by the African National Congress (ANC) will be the first test of its new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa.
