to try and prop their own war machine back up.

I don’t honestly think that Russia couldn’t already afford modern infrastructure and military, as much as I think the government crippled because it’s basically run mafia style where everyone is skimming heavily. on the take. and money being funneled to already wealthy pockets. This sounds vaguely familiar. Even down to people ‘falling’ out of a window from great heights. I get what you are saying tho. Russia is rich in natural resources if they can figure out how to extract a lot of it from the frozen tundra.