Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia’s access to overseas military bases has shrunk precipitously. Indeed, at present the only base they have left that isn’t in the former Soviet Union is the naval base in Syria’s Tartus.
As Russia hopes to modernize its military and return to the role of a global military power, officials say they are in talks with eight countries across the world trying to work out deals for new access.
In 2002 President Putin shut down bases in Cuba and Vietnam citing financial constraints, those nations are at the top of the list now, along with Venezuela, Nicaragua, Algeria, Cyprus, Seychelles and Singapore.
Financial troubles in the post-Soviet era forces Russia to dramatically scale back its military spending, and while the US still outspends them 10 to 1, Russia has recently been reported to have passed Britain as the third place military spender.
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