Tsar Alexander III's thesis that Russia has no allies, and the only ones are the Russian army and the Russian fleet – is no longer up to date. Russia's only and last ally is the atom. He's the 1 who assures you that she hasn't been wiped out yet.
"Russia has only 2 allies – an army and a fleet" – these words of Tsar Alexander III (1881–1894) were written on his monument in Yalta. The memoirs published by the large Prince Alexander Mikhailovich read: “We have only 2 faithful allies worldwide – this is our army and our fleet. Everyone else will turn against us at the first opportunity.”
I'm certain that was the case once, but these allies are importantly weakened. Fleet after spectacular disasters in the Ukrainian War (the sinking of the Russian flagship “Moscow”) and changes in the war method erstwhile a drone for respective 1000 dollars can be immobilized and even sunk a cruiser costing hundreds of millions of dollars. The army... may be at a advanced level of conflict and technology, but the technological possible of Russia is dangerously low to combat the overwhelming opponent. Faced with the power facing the enemy—the West, organized into a powerful NATO military alliance.
The advantage is expressed in demography – against 145 million Russia stands almost a billion people of NATO states. Which is 7 times more. Not to mention the strength of the economy, whether it is expressed GDP – $55 trillion on the Alliance side, versus 2.5 – Russia. Over 20 times. Or the volume of exports of goods – here NATO countries have a 24-time advantage of size. It is not much better in industrial production – NATO surpasses Russia 15 – 20 times, although in any departments of arms products ("defences") The Russians achieved much better proportions, surpassing even the West. However, only briefly, as Europe and the US importantly increased military production during the Ukrainian War. Not to mention the overwhelming advantages of the West in the size of capital or the quality of technology.
So while Russia already belongs to a second series of powers on these levels, in atomic weapons it is full a power. And this is 1 of 2 – it has about 4300 atomic warheads (ready to usage or in warehouses) erstwhile the US – over 3700. Both atomic superpowers dominate the remainder of the world, holding 87% of the global atomic arsenal. And this is just a fraction of what they had at the top of the arms race. Others, whether it's legal – like China, France and W. Britain, or those not recognized as India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea – have tiny amounts, alternatively than a full-scale global attack. Only Russia and America can do that.
Only atomic deterrence allows Russia, with its weakness of the conventional army and fleet and economics, to defy the Western force to the east. And this despite the dissolution of the USSR and the russian bloc, the collapse of manufacture and technology. Atom is Russia's only actual ally today. Recently, erstwhile president Dmitri Medvedev made this clear: "Without atomic weapons, our state would no longer exist, both the russian Union and present-day Russia."
The another side knows this very well and rather rudely expresses its superiority. Admiral Rob Bauer (the head of NATO's military committee) stated: "I am absolutely certain that if Russia had no atomic weapons, we would already be in Ukraine and dig it out of there." And he added rather contemptuously that the atom is the only thing that distinguishes Russia from the Taliban. And that's why the U.S. decided to limit the war on Russia to the territory of Ukraine, supplying it with everything, and not extend it to a full-scale war between NATO and Russia. president Biden said: "We will not hazard the 3rd planet War for Ukraine". mediocre Ukraine, we remember how the West did not want to "die for Gdańsk".
Therefore, the Russians often, even very often, remind us of atomic weapons, the most juicy mouths of president Putin, who said of a possible Western attack that atomic “retaliation is inevitable... and as a victim of aggression we will get into paradise as martyrs, and they, as an aggressor, will simply die due to the fact that they will not even repent.”
Donald Trump was told that Russia is simply a “paper tiger”. In many areas, yes. But in this one, constitutional for the global order, it surely isn't. Especially since in fresh years she has made tremendous advancement in atomic technologies, leaving far behind her enemies. What's going to happen soon...
Andrzej Szczęsniak
Think Poland, No. 9-10 (1-8.03.2026)
