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The above image is of the new Kerch Strait Bridge linking the Crimea to the rest of the Russian Federation. It’s going forward and at full-speed. American sanctions haven’t harmed Russia. They’ve merely sped up the import substitution programme. Russian industry, agriculture, and commercial enterprises stepped up and replaced Western imports. The Americans tried to hobble Russia by having their Ukrainian puppets join the sanctions. All that did was to focus Russian energies. Now, Russia has replacements for everything once built in the Ukraine. The leading light in this was Deputy Chairman of the Government D O Rogozin, the defence industry head. He refused to give in. He gave industry goals and industry met them. In short, the American sanctions didn’t hurt Russia. They helped it!
Russia, China, and Iran form a homogenous contiguous economic bloc linked by landlines… that is, the US Navy can’t interdict them. That’s why the Americans hate the Chinese Silk Road initiative. This overland route would be invulnerable to US Navy pressure. The USN is the only truly strong part of the American forces (like Britain before it, the USA is a sea power, relatively weak in its land/air forces). As naval forces are inherently expensive to build, maintain, and operate, the USA can’t match Russia, China, or even Iran in ground and air forces. The USA simply doesn’t have the money. It must find the funds for a world-beating navy, which means that its army and air force must take what’s left. The USN is primarily responsible for the defence of the American heartland (as the Royal Navy was for Britain’s defence). The USA’s army and air force don’t protect the homeland… that’s always been a naval responsibility. Unlike Russia, China, and Iran, which must maintain large ground forces for homeland defence, the USA (with weak neighbours to the north and south, and oceans to the east and west, as Bismarck noted) must maintain a large naval force to defend itself and to control the sea lanes tying together the Anglosphere and its allies.
Besides that, Russia isn’t very vulnerable from the World Ocean. Most of the Russian coastline faces the Arctic (where naval operations would be extraordinarily difficult)… most of the rest lies in the confined waters of the Baltic and Black Seas. The only place where Russia faces the World Ocean is in the Pacific. Just as Russia poses no real threat to the USA, the USA doesn’t have a strategic advantage over Russia either. It can blockade the Russian Navy in home waters, but the Russian fleet has a different purpose than the USN. The USN is a bluewater high-seas control force. The Russian fleet has the tasks of coastal defence, protection of the two “fortress areas” for SLBM forces, and cooperation with the army. They’re two very different forces.
The Americans are simply not hurting their opponent. However, they ARE goading the bear. All that does is to make him vigilant…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
20 October 2017. The Kerch Bridge is Going Up…
Tags: diplomacy, diplomatic relations, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, United States, USA, war and conflict
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The above image is of the new Kerch Strait Bridge linking the Crimea to the rest of the Russian Federation. It’s going forward and at full-speed. American sanctions haven’t harmed Russia. They’ve merely sped up the import substitution programme. Russian industry, agriculture, and commercial enterprises stepped up and replaced Western imports. The Americans tried to hobble Russia by having their Ukrainian puppets join the sanctions. All that did was to focus Russian energies. Now, Russia has replacements for everything once built in the Ukraine. The leading light in this was Deputy Chairman of the Government D O Rogozin, the defence industry head. He refused to give in. He gave industry goals and industry met them. In short, the American sanctions didn’t hurt Russia. They helped it!
Russia, China, and Iran form a homogenous contiguous economic bloc linked by landlines… that is, the US Navy can’t interdict them. That’s why the Americans hate the Chinese Silk Road initiative. This overland route would be invulnerable to US Navy pressure. The USN is the only truly strong part of the American forces (like Britain before it, the USA is a sea power, relatively weak in its land/air forces). As naval forces are inherently expensive to build, maintain, and operate, the USA can’t match Russia, China, or even Iran in ground and air forces. The USA simply doesn’t have the money. It must find the funds for a world-beating navy, which means that its army and air force must take what’s left. The USN is primarily responsible for the defence of the American heartland (as the Royal Navy was for Britain’s defence). The USA’s army and air force don’t protect the homeland… that’s always been a naval responsibility. Unlike Russia, China, and Iran, which must maintain large ground forces for homeland defence, the USA (with weak neighbours to the north and south, and oceans to the east and west, as Bismarck noted) must maintain a large naval force to defend itself and to control the sea lanes tying together the Anglosphere and its allies.
Besides that, Russia isn’t very vulnerable from the World Ocean. Most of the Russian coastline faces the Arctic (where naval operations would be extraordinarily difficult)… most of the rest lies in the confined waters of the Baltic and Black Seas. The only place where Russia faces the World Ocean is in the Pacific. Just as Russia poses no real threat to the USA, the USA doesn’t have a strategic advantage over Russia either. It can blockade the Russian Navy in home waters, but the Russian fleet has a different purpose than the USN. The USN is a bluewater high-seas control force. The Russian fleet has the tasks of coastal defence, protection of the two “fortress areas” for SLBM forces, and cooperation with the army. They’re two very different forces.
The Americans are simply not hurting their opponent. However, they ARE goading the bear. All that does is to make him vigilant…
BMD