For a country that (according to 4chan's /k/ subreddit) has been an impoverished miserable failure full of alcoholic drug addict subhumans since its very inception, Russia sure has done a good job of maintaining sovereignty and land claims (in fact, holding the record for largest country for about 300 years in a row if we include Imperial Russia).

How is this possible? Surely someone would see how eternally weak Russia allegedly is and want their natural resources at the very least. I don't think the claim of "Cold northern land is useless" makes sense because of the relative prosperity of Canada, Alaska, etc. Russia is definitely incredibly rich in natural resources and the land will only grow in value as the planet warms and northern latitudes become more viable for agriculture and human settlement.

>TL;DR: what's the secret sauce here? One can't realistically believe the Russian Federation has been a third world shithole since forever while also maintaining relatively high sovereignty and territorial claims.

schrodinger's russia

>>512698031 (OP)
Most of the territory is either barely hospitable, next to the Arctic ocean, or very underdeveloped.
It was also too isolated and surrounded by other shitholes that had little means to attack.
The exceptions, mostly Europeans, were usually countered by other European powers in the early modern period.
Then atomic weapons happened.

A good comparison is Canada.
It has the same harsh environment, but despite the much smaller population, the English/French managed to build great infrastructure there, where Russia has failed.

>>512698031 (OP)
>Russia sure has done a good job of maintaining sovereignty and land claims
If you're considering counting Imperial Russia, you should also count the Soviet Union. How have Soviet land claims held up?

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania seceded and are now part of the EU.
Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan all seceded and are de facto recognized as such. Russia has managed to retake Belarus (soft power), part of Ukraine, and small enclaves in Georgia and Moldova. This is not an unstoppable juggernaut.

Ukraine routinely mounts small-scale occupations inside Russia and maintains de facto control over a chunk of Kursk.

Chechnya is officially part of Russia but de facto independent; Chechen troops entered Ukraine under a separate command and appear to be given safer assignments than Russian troops.

If we go back to Imperial Russia, large chunks of their Polish posessions are now part of Poland; Alaska, British Columbia, and California are now entirely part of the US and Canada, and most of the Grand Duchy of Finland is part of the EU.

The Russian Federation's staying power rests primarily on leftover Soviet infrastructure. Nobody invades because the EU, and China aren't in expansionist modes, Mongolia is too weak, the post-Soviet republics don't have the resources to meaningfully occupy Russia, and the American expansionists are part of that leftover soviet infrastructure I mentioned.

>>512698031 (OP)
1 billion $ are a lot of money in russia
their poorness is their biggest strength now

>>512698031 (OP)
>maintaining relatively high sovereignty and territorial claims.
they collapsed 3 times in last 100 years.

>>512699123
>How have Soviet land claims held up?
Maybe have something to do with how jewish bolsheviks carved up Russia into "national" republics with a right for secession

>>512699329
It is funny how aussie cunts obsessed with Russia despite it have nothing to do with them and located on the other side of the world

>>512698849
>the English/French managed to build great infrastructure there, where Russia has failed
You've clearly never been to Russia or Canada

Common Russian W

>>512698031 (OP)
>maintaining sovereignty
All ruling class families and children live and learn in the "West", the standard russian Ivan is poorer than chinese Xin on the same level as african Muanmo or south american Juan.
Do you think of Brazil as a sovereign nation, undefeated with natural resources and prosperity?

Basically its like in the Russian anecdote:

>Two cowboys are riding on the prairie, and a third one rushes past them.
>Who was that? - one asked the other.
>That was Elusive Joe.
>I guess they called him that because he's so fast that no one can catch him?
>No, no one fucking wants him.

... we are full.

>>512700738
It's a joke, we are not.

>>512698031 (OP)
dont talk with tranniedegenerates and their lovers. they will tell you OY WEY BUT YOU ARE NOT FREE TO CHANGE GENDERS AND FUCK KIDS WHY YOU ARE SO PROUD

>>512700328
sure, it was the head of the Economist magazine

>>512698031 (OP)
>fact, holding the record for largest country for about 300 years in a row if we include Imperial Russia
The British Empire was much larger.
>muh outback
yeah, well, muh steppe.