Russia’s economic crisis is forcing the government to trim its prized defense budget, and if the situation worsens, President Vladimir Putin may have to choose between his current saber-rattling and buying the new equipment his Soviet-style forces have been promised. Back in 2011, when relations with the West were relatively tranquil and Russia’s shows of force less frequent, Putin pledged to carry out a massive rearmament campaign with 20 trillion rubles ($370 billion) dedicated to buying new military hardware through 2020.
Filed under: Russia Tagged: China, Crimea, defense budget, economic crisis, Economy, Europe, financial system, Germany, military, rouble, Russia, sanctions, Soviet-style forces, Ukraine, United States, Vladimir Putin, West
