Russia’s Long Road Toward Resurgence, page-5

Well I completely disagree with the notion that Russia can compete with the USA militarily. The only thing Russia has is nukes but putting those aside (as they would get nuked right back) they would get absolutely smashed.

Besides which, I'm not sure how having a strong military makes a country great? North Korea has one of the biggest armies in the world and they can't even keep the lights on. It's a similar (though obviously less stark) deal with Russia - Putin has devoted large resources to the military while his population suffers in alcoholic destitution.

Also worth noting the Russian economy shat itself a good few years before US sanctions started.