Essay: Vladimir Putin understimates small opponents - big time!

Vladimir Putin

See also: Vladimir Putin is a corrupt kleptocrat and an authoritarian

In terms of population, Ukraine is a relatively small country compared to Russia and in 2021 it had a population 43.79 million people.

In terms of their height, the Japanese people are relatively speaking short in stature.

Pride often comes before the fall. And corrupt, autocratic leaders such as Vladimir Putin are no exception to this principle (See also: Vladimir Putin is a corrupt kleptocrat and an authoritarian).

1 2 cases of Vladimir Putin underestimating small opponents. Small opponents can cause big damage! Bees are small, but they can really sting!
- 1.1 Seemingly weak, little, Japanese girl Judo practitioner tosses Vladimir Putin to the floor
- 1.2 Russia is dying out. The war in Ukraine is making Russia's demographic crisis even worse
  - 1.2.1 Vladimir Putin famously said "For me, Ukraine is not a real country". Vladimir Putin should have listened to Sun Tzu because the small country of Ukraine is causing significant problems for Russia
  - 1.2.2 Russian defector reveals that a 'majority' of people inside the Kremlin are unhappy with the war in Ukraine
2 How long will the war in Ukraine last and what will its likely outcomes will be? A prediction on its outcomes
3 Always remember: Small opponents can cause big damage. And the bigger the opponent, the harder his fall
4 There is no evidence that Vladimir Putin plays chess
5 User Conservative's international politics essays
6 User:Conservative's essays
- 6.1 User: Conservative's political essays
7 References

2 cases of Vladimir Putin underestimating small opponents. Small opponents can cause big damage! Bees are small, but they can really sting!

Seemingly weak, little, Japanese girl Judo practitioner tosses Vladimir Putin to the floor

Seemingly weak, little girl Judo practioner tosses Vladimir Putin the floor!^[1]

Even the sissy boy Barack Obama wasn't thrown to the floor by a little girl.

Russia is dying out. The war in Ukraine is making Russia's demographic crisis even worse

The flag of Russia

According to the Russian demographer Salavat Abylkalikov the war in Ukraine makes Russia's demographic crisis worse.^[2]

Salavat Abylkalikov indicates:

“

In 2022, Russia's population growth rate was -0.38%. Assuming this rate persists, the population will halve in 184 years (according to Rosstat figures, Russia currently has 146.4 million inhabitants — The Bell). According to the UN's latest projection, Russia's population will be 112.2 million by 2100 under average circumstances.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused life expectancy in Russia to fall by 3.3 years. It quickly began to recover in 2022, rising by 2.7 years. However, the war has disrupted this progress, and life expectancy is now impacted by war-related deaths and stress-induced substance abuse. Lower incomes and worsening access to medication, diagnostics, equipment and treatment are further reducing life expectancy.

The war may also cause a decrease in inward migration, which has previously helped offset Russia's natural population decline. From 1992-2019, the natural loss was 13.8 million people, but inward migration compensated with 9.6 million. Russia could now find itself in a situation where natural and migratory losses reinforce one another...

Shifts in the age structure of the population pose a substantial demographic risk for Russia's economy. The generations born in the 1990s and 2000s, when Russia's birth rate was at its lowest, are now entering the labor market. This will exacerbate the existing crisis due to a lack of young workers. Meanwhile, the post-war generations of the 1950s and 60s are aging and approaching retirement.^[3]

”

The main consequences of Russia's demographic crisis according to the Russian demographer Salavat Abylkalikov

Russian demography has long been an existential issue to Vladimir Putin. In 2021, he declared “saving the people of Russia is our top national priority".^[4]

The Russian demographer Salavat Abylkalikov says the main consequences of Russia's demographic crisis will be the following:

“

According to the average version of the UN forecast, Russia's population by 2050 may be about 133.4 million people, which is 14th in the world and below countries such as Egypt, the Philippines, and Mexico. But if Russia goes not according to the average, but according to the low option that is quite likely at the present time, then with a population of 123.2 million people we will drop to 16th place and will already be neighbors with Tanzania and Vietnam. Thus, the price of switching to the low scenario could be -10 million people, as well as a decrease in the place in the top countries in terms of population. Moreover, the low version of the UN forecast did not include too low or even negative migration growth.

A smaller population means a country's lower economic potential, a shrinking domestic market, worsening demographic problems and an aging population, as well as a decrease in the country's geopolitical power. The population size still correlates with the weight in international relations, the ability to promote their interests on the world stage. And the declining population for the largest country in the world may cause some neighbors on the continent, especially the eastern ones, to be tempted to solve their internal growing problems by some external adventures. But will Russia find anyone and how to fight back, will there be allies?^[5]

”

Articles related to the war in Ukraine making Russia's demographic crisis even worse:

Russia Facing Population Disaster - Demographic Crisis, Employee Shortages & Economic Crisis
Russia stares into population abyss as Putin sends its young men to die, The Telegraph, February 2023
Millennials and Gen Z are blaming Putin for intensifying Russia’s baby shortfall: ‘It’s pretty bad for us’, Fortune magazine, December 3, 2022
Dramatic Population Drop in Russia, as War, COVID and Emigration Exacerbate Declining Births, 6/03/2023

Other articles related to Russia's demographic crisis:

Demographics of Russia

Aging of Russia

Vladimir Putin famously said "For me, Ukraine is not a real country". Vladimir Putin should have listened to Sun Tzu because the small country of Ukraine is causing significant problems for Russia

"For me, Ukraine is not a real country." - Vladimir Putin^[6]

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." - Sun Tzu

Putin should have embraced reality and recognized that Ukraine is a real country. Because as can be seen in the above essay, his denial of history is causing Russia significant problems for Russia - namely it is making Russia's demographic crisis even worse than it was already.^[7]

"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." - Sun Tzu

"For me, Ukraine is not a real country." - Vladimir Putin^[8]

Ukraine is not a real country, Vladimir?

This supposed "non-country" knocked you off your high horse Vladimir. The war in Ukraine has made Russia's demographic crisis even worse!^[9]

Russian defector reveals that a 'majority' of people inside the Kremlin are unhappy with the war in Ukraine

Russia defector reveals 'majority' of people inside Kremlin unhappy with war in Ukraine, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 2023

Russia defector reveals 'majority' of people inside Kremlin unhappy with war in Ukraine, ABC News video, July 2023

The Grand Kremlin Palace is a building in the Moscow Kremlin.

The Moscow Kremlin is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow. The Moscow Kremlin now serves as the official residence of the Russian president and as a museum.

How long will the war in Ukraine last and what will its likely outcomes will be? A prediction on its outcomes

Any "victory" Russia achieves in the war in Ukraine in terms of land gained will be a pyrrhic victory (See: Essay: Why I am not bullish on Russia's future).

Always remember: Small opponents can cause big damage. And the bigger the opponent, the harder his fall

David caused quite a bit of damage to Goliath.

The small Lilliputian nation of Ukrainian has tied the Russian giant down in a costly war of attrition.

Any "victory" Russia achieves in the war in Ukraine in terms of land gained will be a pyrrhic victory (See: Essay: Why I am not bullish on Russia's future).

The war in Ukraine has made Russia's demographic crisis even worse than it already was.^[10]

Remember, next time you are around a lot of bees, please be sure to wear your bee bonnet. Bees are small, but they can really sting!

There is no evidence that Vladimir Putin plays chess

See: There is no evidence that Vladimir Putin plays chess

According to Kingpin Chess Magazine, there is no evidence that Vladimir Putin plays chess (See: Vladimir Putin Doesn’t Play Chess). According to a popular chess forum, chess Grandmaster Gary Kasparov stated that "Putin isn't a chess player either in actuality nor by character."^[11] See: Chessmaster Gary Kasparov on Vladimir Putin.

For more information, please see: There is no evidence that Vladimir Putin plays chess