Not quite harmless...

The Russian Federation, currently second behind the US in volume of arms exports according to SIPRI, is showing the sort of take-charge, entrepreneurial attitude that makes it so adored the world over with its testing on Friday of a sea-based ICBM and the continued development of sea-based carriers for its ICBMs. Pravda reported:

"Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, said that Russia would create five or six aircraft carrier groups in its Northern and Pacific Fleets. The naval command decided to build not only aircraft carriers, but maritime carrier systems. “The construction of such systems will start after 2012. They will be closely linked with space groups,” the official said."

"Space groups." Fantastic. But as unsettling as it is that Russia/Putin's Playground, with its aspirations of space dominance, will soon be providing the primary means of transport to the International Space Station, let us not lose sight of the bigger issue here: Americans have fallen into the habit of regarding post-Soviet Russia as a defanged beast - once powerful, but now pitiful. The trouble is, Russia is pursuing the development of weapons technology with as much aggression as ever, and yet they seem to have completely fallen off Americans' radar. Although it is indisputable that Russia's condition has suffered tremendously for decades, we must keep in mind that even in its relatively poor state, Russia remains a military, financial, and diplomatic force to be reckoned with, and the immense power of certain leaders in Moscow make the future of the country all the more disturbing.