While the Pentagon continues to grow US military spending annually, despite already spending many times more than any other nation in the world, Russia indicated Friday they’re heading in the opposite direction. The Kremlin has announced planned cuts.
Kremlin officials say their intention is to cut military spending over the next five years, with an end goal being that, by 2022, they will be sending less than 3 percent of their annual GDP on the military. Currently Russia spends in excess of 5% in recent years.
Exactly what the end result will be isn’t entirely clear, of course, because we don’t know where Russia’s GDP will be in five years. Still, Russia is presently the 12th largest economy in the world, so dropping to 3% will likely put their military spending below multiple individual NATO member nations.
Russian officials say they intend to focus on improving relations with the United States going forward, and this may suggest they’re backing away from the escalating military tensions with the West in Eastern Europe.
Putin also projects growing his economy during those years. The net of a lesser percentage of a larger whole is much the same as now. If no growth, then no cuts either in percentage. Just more of the same. It is smoke.
I wouldn’t go as far as exclaiming it is smoke when compared to the US and Europe’s (NATO) military budget’s. 3% or 5% of Russia’s GDP spending on military is still pretty small in comparison either way.
When Putin speaks of growth, he speaks of activity, not just inflation. America’s growth is only debt and inflation, which makes the “numbers” larger, therefore larger numbers can be sold as “growth” to the ignorant American masses, who think in a conceptual prison.
Concerning the war machines, Russian EM warfare renders most American hardware totally ineffective.
Well when the US attacks Iran, I think the Russian economy improves as gulf oil is removed from the market. So he has factored that in already.
Even before these cuts, Europe’s NATO members outspend Russia six to one. And the increase in the US defense budget this year- just the INCREASE- is bigger than the ENTIRE Russian defense budget.
The plan as outlined here sure casts a bit of doubt on the idea of Russia as bent on world conquest. Instead, they seem to be interested in matching their goals with their means. Reduce spending by working toward better relations with their neighbors?
What a concept.
This should actually be huge news. But of course it won’t fit the narrative.
That’s because when the big war starts, the Ru.ss understands that’s tanks, battleships, carriers, helicopters, and howitzers will be rendered useless when the bombs hit the ground.
On the one hand, I agree completely, and often point out that if the US military budget was cut by 75-90%, it would still be the biggest military spender on the planet.
On the other hand, I will play devil’s advocate here on the premise that a direct spending comparison doesn’t work for various reasons.
Base annual pay, US armed forces, E-1: $19,000
Base annual pay, Russian armed forces, E1: $4,200
Then there are benefits.
Russia has socialized healthcare, which means that that E-1 would be getting state-paid healthcare whether he was in the army or not, so it doesn’t really go to military spending. In the US military, provision of healthcare to the troops is an added expense to the “defense spending” line.
My understanding is that while much of Russian housing has been “privatized,” about half of it is still either state-owned or state-subsidized. My guess is that Russian personnel live in barracks or, if they want to live off-base, pay for it themselves or take advantage of non-military housing subsidies. US personnel, especially with dependents, can get a significant “housing allowance” added to their pay. I don’t know if Russia gives a pay boost to troops with dependents, but the US military does.
The figure I’ve seen for US spending on military recruitment runs as high as $18 billion per year. That’s about 1/4th what Russia spends on its military altogether. While Russia may spend some on recruitment, it does have universal male military conscription and obviously doesn’t need to spend as much. The US doesn’t have a draft. Every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine has to be convinced to voluntarily enlist.
And so on and so forth. So even if we assume a rough parity in cost of weapons, uniforms, equipment, etc. — which is unlikely given the corruption and padding in US military contracting — it costs Russia much, much less to put a soldier in the field than it does the US.
/………and all of their military (or the vast majority of it) is home or much closer to home than ours, so their logistical costs are much less. Then there are all of the “accompanied” overseas tours in our military, when we ship dependents and household goods all over the world so the spouse and kiddies can go with daddy (or mommy).
What we spend on “combat pay” probably equals some small country’s military budget.
Not only that, if Russia is increasing its reliance on nuclear weapons, it won’t need as many soldiers. Soldiers cost a lot more than nukes.
Who cares what percentage of their GDP’s countries spend on their militaries? 700 billion worth of toys is a s**tload more than 70 billion regardless of the GDP. What does the size of a country’s economy have to do with what they need to defend themselves?
“the empire is a cannibal!” the u.s. has what? 800? 1000? bases around the world, more?
as the american empire expands the cost of maintaining its huge self increases exponentially and the tax payer has to cough up ever more or the feds just print more fiat dollars and the national debt soars into the clouds. “the empire is a cannibal, devouring its own citizens!”
aside from economic factors killing people and destroying nations is just wrong–morally corrupt!
Stop stealing and giving money from taxpayers to the G-d damn military. The illusion that the military protects us and our alleged/controlled “freedoms” is total bullshit. No nation is invading the usa. It’s land mass and population are too large to conquer and control. The military is used to force the growing presence of corporate and financial institutions on other nations. It is used to enable the theft of land and resources that belong to others and to engage in ethnic cleansing operations that push cheap labor our of one region and into another. The phrases “national interest or “national security” are likewise Bernaysian/Goebellsian propaganda tools used to stop you from thinking about the truth of what has been going on since the birth of usa. Expansion and theft by any means necessary. Smedley Butler was right. If you doubt it ask the native american people and all those whose countries have suffered the onslaught of the ‘merican military.
“this may suggest they’re backing away from the escalating military tensions with the West in Eastern Europe.” This seems to suggest that it is Russia causing the tensions. Who is making the accusations? Who is trying to negotiate?
Russia may also be banking on the U.S. coming to the table for arms talks.
With a comfortable lead in PGS future warfare systems, there’s no sense spending on programs that have to be mothballed or weapons that have to be destroyed in the near future.
Maybe.
Russia is losing WWIII; It is finally waking up to fact US will stop at nothing, including nuclear weponry, in order to gain hegemony over whole of earth, and Russia is powerless to stop it.
There are no International bodies of laws whereby Russia can appeal to that are not under US control; nor are there left any nonaligned nations worth becoming allied with; the whole of Europe, Africa, and but two Latin American nations but just alike.are but US colonies.
And the if Political, financials, scientific and religious want their military to “eliminate any and all means of threats in the future”; they will get it.
Russian economy is not diverse enough, and they on own cannot exploit all the wealth of Siberia, hence being needy to EuroCentric / US financial industrial investors.
China does not need Russia except in but one scenario, dumping US pet to dollars for China currency.
Russia’s oligarchs would dethrone Putin in an instant, as their billions are invested in EuroCentric industries.
Russian leadership, Putin at its head, is just vying for a position within that US Hegomonic Empire
Bush outlined that Doctrine of not allowing any regional power to rise.
I look back a wee bit further back , Bush on Iraq was merely carrying out the Regan Bush policy of (LIC), Limited Intencity Conflict and Full Spectrum Dominence Doctrine.
The PNAC group was the more open version, and little known was the Armitage papers towards Korea and Balkans of same philosophical bent.
Armitage & Associates along with Albright and Associates became main powerbrokers of Kosovo Independence, and still main financial seats there
Nothing happens in a happenstance way, behind the smoke screenof ooops and immediate need for action lies years of hidden agendas.
Assuming the report is true, what this suggests to me is that Russia is concentrating its expenditures on its highest priorities – improving its nuclear weapons and delivery systems, and its electronic warfare. Why waste money on ground troops if you have adopted a nuclear-centric strategy? Ground troops cost big bucks, and have healthcare and pension costs. Nukes don’t