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During the [[Cold War]], the '''Third World''' was the official rhetoric used by the [[United Nations]] and in Western [[mainstream media]] to refer to economically undeveloped countries, many of which were unaligned between the competing power blocs of the [[US]]/[[NATO]]/[[EU]] and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] and its [[Warsaw Pact]] and [[Comecon]] allies.<ref>http://media.transparency.org/imaps/cpi2009/</ref>  It was usually applied to the mostly undeveloped nations of Africa, Latin America, and Asian countries.<ref>The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref>  

During the [[Cold War]], the '''Third World''' was the official rhetoric used by the [[United Nations]] and in Western [[mainstream media]] to refer to economically undeveloped countries, many of which were unaligned between the competing power blocs of the [[US]]/[[NATO]]/[[EU]] on one side, and the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet Union]] and its [[Warsaw Pact]] and [[Comecon]] allies on the other.<ref>http://media.transparency.org/imaps/cpi2009/</ref>  It was usually applied to the mostly economically undeveloped nations of Africa, Latin America, and Asian countries.<ref>The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989</ref>  

There term was considered offensive by many, and after the [[Cold War]] the rhetoric shifted to a two-fold division rather than threefold division - using the [[class envy]] [[Marxist]] idioms of the "rich" Northern countries and "poor" Southern countries, which became the [[Global North]] and [[Global South]]. However the [[Russian Federation]] in the so-called Global North didn't fit the stereotype of a "rich" Northern country, other than its ability to retain a powerful military establishment. In the 21st century, the Russian Federation aligned with the Global South in the [[BRICS+]] organization. The Western-controlled [[G7]] remains of what's left of the Global North.

There term was considered offensive by many, and after the [[Cold War]] the rhetoric shifted to a two-fold division rather than threefold division - using the [[class envy]] [[Marxist]] idioms of the "rich" Northern countries and "poor" Southern countries, which became the [[Global North]] and [[Global South]]. However the [[Russian Federation]] in the so-called Global North didn't fit the stereotype of a "rich" Northern country, other than its ability to retain a powerful military establishment. In the 21st century, the Russian Federation aligned with the Global South in the [[BRICS+]] organization. The Western-controlled [[G7]] remains of what's left of the Global North.