Recently, I read a nice article, now lost in my bookmarks folder, about how Russia’s economy is, as are most oligarchies, is an extraction economy. Good at digging and pumping things out of the ground; but, when it comes to making stuff, not so much. Didn’t I see a report of a Russian drone with a US built motherboard? Think there might be some backdoor deep in the bios on those units? I wonder. Because China is doing the same thing.

The other problem with an oligarchy such as Russia’s? Much of the money destined for the military was used to buy flats in London.

Have we over-estimated the Russian war making capabilities? Yes. Which is better than the other way ’round. Did Russia exaggerate their skill? Of course. That’s the art of deception. Remember how, in the first Gulf War, Iraq hung painted plywood on their tanks to make them look like they’d had armored the treads?

The Russian deceptions have extended to their own troops. Many accounts of the soldiers thinking their were going on a training mission. That shows a complete disregard for your fighters. Without a clear mission and a reason to fight, they’ll not devote themselves to winning, just to staying alive. And if reports are to be trusted, those are conscripted troops with less than a year of training. I.E., canon fodder. Many are from distant parts of Russia and don’t give a rat’s ass about Ukraine.

Speaking of China, that’s a whole other post I’m thinking about. Maybe later. They are far better at strategy, long term strategy, than the Russians. And have an order or two magnitudes more of canon fodder.