Top Russian Analyst Explains Why Strong Military Only Guarantee Against Out-of-Control Western Belligerence

All nations strive to increase their wealth and comfort. But what do you do if your country's economy comes under attack? How can a country improve its citizens' lives if an enemy state imposes sanctions?

One option is to beg for mercy. The other option is to be prepared to fight.

Si vis pacem, para bellum. If you want peace, prepare for war.

Transcript:

Igor Korotchenko, National Defense magazine editor-in-chief:

- The military force factor is decisive today for the way the modern world will develop. If you have force, you'll have a good GDP growth rate. But if you have a good GDP growth rate, Trump will press a button and several hundred Tomahawks will grind your economy to dust. That's it, you're in the time of cavemen. When liberals say we shouldn't spend money on defense — yes, we should. Today is the day when we should spend money on defense.

We should respond in a calm manner. We shouldn't repeat the mistakes of the Brezhnev Politburo. We shouldn't allow getting dragged into a new arms race. Nevertheless, we should have the capabilities that if America jumps on us, we will have a nuclear button which can annihilate the aggressor. 

When the aggressor understands that, I'll stress this, that a retaliatory attack will destroy it, they will talk to us, invite us to the G7 and the G8. They will talk to us. But if we lose this capability, they will treat us the same way they treated Saddam, Milosevic. And they will do it again to dozens of sovereign leaders in the modern world. 

This is the nature of the Anglo-Saxons. Zhirinovsky's right, they know no other way. Whoever has a Colt and knows how to use it is right. This is the logic. The American establishment is brought up on gangster movies. They are gangsters. Yes, they wear tuxedos and can speak in a civilized manner. But they behave just like 200 years ago — they take out a Colt and shoot their adversary right in the head.

There are two important points for us. We shouldn't get involved in negotiations with the US when they propose that, within the framework of a new START-3, we limit the development of the new strategic weapons which Putin told us about. 

That's why projects, such as the Poseidon... This is a nuclear vehicle which can't be touched by any American missile defense system. It travels underwater at a speed of 200 km/h (125 mph). It's capable of carrying a payload of great power. When detonated near the enemy coast, it will put half the coast underwater. This is a weapon of retaliation. Russia never intends to use it first. It will be a retaliatory blow. But it should be. 

The same applies to the Burevestnik. It's a nuclear-powered cruise missile with unlimited range. From any direction, at extremely low altitude, it can reach an aggressor and punish them for being aggressive. 

The West has nothing of the kind yet. These are our trump cards. As well as our Strategic Missile Forces. Don't be afraid to live nearby. We have an aerospace defense system which is guaranteed to notice missile launches against us and intercept anything flying towards us. Of course, this is not for a global nuclear war. But a global nuclear war means the destruction of the human race. 

I suppose Trump and American generals have children, grandchildren, wives, and they want to live. That's why while we're strong we'll be spoken to.

What should we do at the political level? Who are our partners? First of all, the people of Russia. They are our highest priority. We must ensure domestic political stability and social justice so that people could feel it gets better after fulfilling any plans because no matter what you say to people, they think in the abstract. They want to know what will happen to them and their loved ones.

We must improve the quality of life for the Russian people. This is the first factor. It will ensure our domestic political stability. Thus, no color revolution, no people like Navalny, no Hong Kong riots will be even possible here. Because the people will stand up. They won't opt for the destruction of the state and turning it into a new Ukraine.

The second factor is to find allies. China today is one of the key allies. We should reach a new level of cooperation with China. We must launch a joint missile warning system. China has limited capabilities in this regard, we have huge ones. We should offer our hand. 

We should let China use our capabilities in terms of ensuring its security against American or any other attacks on China. We can warn China in a matter of 10 minutes if a missile is launched against it. We can give China that kind of protection. 

In return, we need Chinese investment in our economy in order to grow. We need joint foreign policy planning. So that we act together with China as we did at the last UN Security Council. Joint exercises in the field of strategic nuclear forces are possible. In the future, we can establish joint aerospace defense systems. But I stress it once again, we need a pragmatic partnership. We shouldn't seek somebody's attention.

In conclusion, I want to say a few words about Trump. Trump is of twenty minds. He changes his mind so quickly. So we should filter what he says. We should pat on him on the shoulder and say: "Yes, Donald, good job. Let's do this and that." But we should understand we shouldn't seek American presidents' attention as Gorbachev did. We remember what it led to. That's why we should think pragmatically about our national interests, our army and navy, and the Russian people. These are our strategic priorities.

I say it again, we can't offer guns instead of butter to the Russian people. It won't work. We should offer them both guns and butter. And I'll tell you how we can do this. We must introduce a privatization tax on those who have become billionaires, oligarchs. They must share their fortune with the people. Also, people should be sure of a fair state structure. If we can't follow this basic principle we won't be able to defend our country.

Now, a few words about further perspectives. In a few days, we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the test of the first Soviet nuclear bomb. That's what gave us real sovereignty — nuclear weapons and means of its transportation. Intelligence and scientists played a key role. There were Kurchatov, Khariton, Sakharov, and other brilliant minds.

- Those scientists were in camps under your Soviet system!

- Also, we had good intelligence. We should make it good today as well. We have three agencies responsible for foreign intelligence. They must show specific results. 

The Ministry of Defense held a meeting at the ERA Technopolis recently. The head of the Ministry of Defense and our new Kurchatov, if I may put it this way, took part in this meeting. The latter is the current president of the Kurchatov Institute. Everyone knows him. He's been here many times. I mean Mikhail Kovalchuk. 

What he said is crucial. He said: "We will develop weapons based on new physical principles." A military artificial intelligence system will be developed. Our foreign intelligence should work for people like Kovalchuk. They should provide him data so we could cut corners, avoid mistakes, and move forward. 

We can repeat the success under new technological circumstances. We can create a weapon which can protect Russia in the 21st century. 

We have the people, we have the infrastructure, we have the intelligence agencies. We should set our tasks and monitor their implementation.