Russia vs the USSR — Who Was Truly Stronger?

Ajouté : 2026-05-11

[00:00:02]The world is entering an era of fierce competition between powerful and comprehensive nations with the participation of the United States and China as two global dominant forces. People have expected this country to quickly rise creating a multipolar world order.

[00:00:32]Can they restore the golden age that has passed?

[00:00:36]Let's find the answer right now.

[00:00:40]You may already know that Soviet Russia always played a central role being the most important part of the Soviet Union.

[00:00:54]>> [music] >> means However, they also inherited from the previous generation corrupt and incompetent officials.

[00:01:03]These factors along with Russia's efforts to revive valuable technical legacies from the Soviet era transformed [music] Russia's defense industry making it take a different direction with characteristics that are both familiar and unfamiliar compared to the Soviet Union.

[00:01:20]First, economic restructuring policies during the 1990s created major disruptions for many industrial sectors.

[00:01:29]The phenomenon of rampant speculation many traditional technical industries weakened and lost led to the failure of the Russian in 1996 the production value of Russian military industrial enterprises decreased by 5/6 compared to 1992.

[00:01:45]The number of specialized industrial research facilities declined significantly during that period.

[00:01:52]To strengthen the macroeconomic adjustment of military science and technology policy Russia established the Committee for Science and Technology Policy. During the mid-1990s, leadership committees and long-term scientific development strategies were established to guide industrial modernization.

[00:02:08]Zenit.

[00:02:09]These measures helped Russia's military industry enter a period of orderly development.

[00:02:15]In 1998, the Russian government also enacted a law to reorganize the defense industry, aiming to establish a high-tech industrial corporation integrating military and civilian sectors. After entering the 21st century, the Russian economy experienced a strong recovery. Providing solid material assurance for the reform of the military industry.

[00:02:40]Thus, Russia's defense industry gradually successfully regained control of core technical foundations from the Soviet era and developed new achievements.

[00:02:50]However, the losses from the post-Soviet era were still too great.

[00:02:55]Combined with global geopolitical changes in the new era, Russia's defense forces still have a significant gap compared to their predecessors. We can see the most significant difference in the nuclear strike force.

[00:03:11]The ace in every deterrent strategy of the Soviet Union and current Russia.

[00:03:20]As of 2019, Moscow possessed a formidable nuclear arsenal estimated at 4,490 warheads.

[00:03:28]Of these, 1,600 warheads were designed to equip ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

[00:03:35]1,070 similar ones are being stored, and the remainder are classified as tactical weapons.

[00:03:44]The key forces responsible for Russia's current nuclear strike capability include 39 strategic missile regiments using intercontinental ballistic missiles ICBMs of types R-36M, UR-100N, Topol-M, and RS-24 Yars. Some of these missile types are gradually being replaced by the Avangard hypersonic cruise missile system and the RS-28 Sarmat. The Strategic Missile Forces are favored by Russia, equipped with up to 1,138 nuclear warheads.

[00:04:16]The Russian Navy has 10 operational nuclear submarines carrying SLBMs of the Delta and Borei classes.

[00:04:26]Each of these submarines is designed to carry up to 16 SLBMs.

[00:04:34]The Russian Navy is allowed to use about 600 nuclear warheads for missiles.

[00:04:40]The remaining Russian Aerospace Forces have about 60 bombers carrying strategic missiles, the Tu-160 and Tu-95MS.

[00:04:47]50 of these are combat-ready. The notable nuclear-capable weapons include the Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles.

[00:04:56]The Kh-101 is specifically designed to carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.

[00:05:05]There are up to 700 nuclear-capable cruise missiles maintained by Russia.

[00:05:12]That's not even counting nuclear bombs.

[00:05:14]Currently, compared to the US nuclear arsenal of 5,000 warheads, Russia's forces can be said to be on par. But look at the screen. We can see that the number of Russia's nuclear warheads today is only 1/3 of the Soviet Union's when it was about to collapse.

[00:05:28]It is known that the Soviet Union at its peak possessed 1.5 times more nuclear warheads than the US. Accounting many Soviet-era missiles, such as the R-36 or UR-100, are still used by Russia in combat-ready forces. [music] day. Considering the current level, missiles manufactured with modern Russian technology like the RS-24R are superior [clears throat] to Soviet.

[00:05:52]But if we consider practicality, this doesn't make much difference.

[00:06:00]We can take the example of the famous RS-24R which has an attack range of up to 11,000 km, a maximum speed of 30,600 km/h, which is 25 times the speed of sound, and an error margin of only 100 m. The UR-100N missile produced by the Soviet Union since 1975 has an operating range of 10,600 km, a speed of 27,500 km/h, and an error margin of over 300 m.

[00:06:32]Although the current RS-24R is more modern with its speed and destructive power, if Russia uses the UR-100N, both ICBMs can carry nuclear warheads with an explosive yield 20 times that of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

[00:06:47]Picking an error margin of only 300 m negligible, that means the results of an attack by RS-24R and UR-100N are equivalent. Both would lead to the complete destruction of a large area.

[00:06:59]Moreover, the Soviet Union had more launch systems and warheads, making its overall power superior to Russia's.

[00:07:06]However, Russia's reduction of its nuclear forces is probably a more pragmatic decision compared to the Soviet Union's previous strategy of massive development of nuclear strike capabilities.

[00:07:19]A military analysts argued that strategic deterrence capabilities remained a major factor in maintaining global balance during periods of geopolitical tension.

[00:07:28]It's hard to imagine what would happen if one day Moscow decided to mobilize its entire nuclear strike capability.

[00:07:35]That would be more than enough to send opponents to their final resting place.

[00:07:40]So, if you already possess enough destructive weapons, but of course even officials who have prepared a nuclear bunker for themselves and their families would not want their descendants to live underground due to a nuclear war.

[00:07:52]Therefore, in most situations, people need to fight with conventional forces.

[00:07:59]Part is With its status as a vast country stretching across the Eurasian continent, both current Russia and the former Soviet Union to meet the requirements of territorial defense or localized attacks when necessary.

[00:08:16]In particular, the Soviet Union from the early days of World War II showed a strong preference for using tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery.

[00:08:24]This is explained by the Soviet Union's vast territory.

[00:08:29]Most of the terrain is relatively flat.

[00:08:32]They also possessed abundant natural resources, enough to produce a huge number of heavy combat vehicles.

[00:08:40]Without having to worry much about issues like ammunition shortages, fuel, or spare parts.

[00:08:47]In the final years of the Cold War, the Soviet Union still had up to 50,000 tanks and hundreds of thousands of other armored vehicles. In terms of artillery, the Soviet Union surpassed Russia in numbers, reaching up to 50,000 pieces, while Russia only had 20,000. Russia has two modern tank lines that have been demonstrated on the battlefield, the T-72B3 and T-90.

[00:09:13]Russia's Armata tank line, although very modern, has not yet been put into large-scale production.

[00:09:19]The T-72B3 and T-90 tank versions, despite possessing newer technologies, are not enough to create an overwhelming advantage over the T-80. This also happens with artillery weapons. Russia has not yet been able to create a revolutionary product line compared to the names from the Soviet era.

[00:09:37]>> [music] >> The Soviet ground forces also regularly maintained a large number of personnel, up to 1.5 million troops, five times more than Russia. Russia's tank production capacity is also considered much slower than the Soviet Union's due to lost and dispersed manufacturing capabilities to many other countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.

[00:10:02]At this point, we can see that the power of the Soviet ground forces was always overwhelming compared to Russia's.

[00:10:08]The deterrence capability against the Soviet Union's neighboring countries was also very high. Even a country with formidable military forces like Come in.

[00:10:26]In modern warfare, the Air Force and Navy often play an even greater role than the ground forces.

[00:10:33]The Russian Navy and Air Force impressed the world with a series of new generation weapons such as the Su-35 fighter jet, So, does that mean the current Russian Aerospace Forces and Navy have reached a new level compared to the old Soviet Union?

[00:10:50]The unfortunate answer is no.

[00:10:56]The Soviet Union had 600 surface ships, while Russia only has over 200.

[00:11:06]The Soviet Union possessed helicopter carriers, while Russia does not.

[00:11:12]Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union also demonstrated its ability to create long-range surface fleets with Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruisers.

[00:11:20]With a full displacement of 28,000 tons, most of Russia's current surface fleet power is based on inherited Soviet assets, including Slava-class cruisers, Kirov and Udaloy class destroyers, Sovremenny.

[00:11:36]Below the sea, the Soviet submarine force also excelled with 196 nuclear submarines, three times more than Russia.

[00:11:45]As for the Air Force, Russia is known for producing extremely advanced fifth generation fighter jets such as the Su-30. Under the Soviet era, Moscow still had to rely on a large number of older Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets.

[00:12:00]Except for fighter jets possessing unique power like the MiG-31, Russia has not yet been able to replace them.

[00:12:07]The number of Soviet fighter jets was still superior, but not by much. In this case, we can temporarily consider both sides equal.

[00:12:16]However, Russia has not been able to create more strategic bombers like the Tu-160, Tu-95, or Tu-22. Meanwhile, the number of strategic bombers inherited by Russia from the Soviet Union has significantly deteriorated.

[00:12:32]This has left them deficient in preemptive strike capabilities by Air Force compared to the Soviet Union.

[00:12:48]These two names have opened a new era thanks to their ability to strike targets at 10 times the speed of sound.

[00:12:55]More than enough to tear through any defense system in the world today.

[00:13:05]What you might not know, more than 40 years ago, the Soviet Union put into use the Kh-15 missile reaching hypersonic speeds.

[00:13:14]To date, no Western defense system can confidently intercept such a missile even though it is significantly inferior to Russia's modern missile generation.

[00:13:25]After more than 20 years of recovery and development >> Notably, through various tests, Russia's latest air defense missile system has demonstrated its ability to intercept some hypersonic missile types.

[00:13:36]In summary, in comparison with the Soviet Union Russia's overall naval power is completely outmatched.

[00:13:44]As for the Air Force, the Soviet Union also dominated in terms of numbers of fighter jets, bombers, and transport aircraft.

[00:13:52]The only bright spot for the Russian Aerospace Forces is that they possess some modern fighter jets and advanced hypersonic missiles.

[00:14:00]In addition, Russia's air defense capabilities are also increasingly advanced.

[00:14:09]Despite the current size of the Russian economy being much smaller than that of the Soviet Union, the military science of the white bear creek still This reality opens up the possibility for the Russian army to achieve new successes in the future.

[00:14:24]future.

[00:14:24]This is evident even in unmanned aerial vehicles. From large, super complex types like the S-75 or simple Many new technologies such as lasers and hypersonic weapons are also being actively researched. When it was first established, the Russian army, as the armed forces of an independent country, had only 8% of its equipment as new.

[00:14:48]The rest depended on legacies from the old Soviet Union. But since 2020, the amount of new equipment has reached 60% in the Russian army.

[00:14:57]This clearly demonstrates Moscow's determination, as they do not use the excuse that old weapons are still good to just Instead, Russia continuously promotes the development of its defense industry, creating products that make a splash in the international market.

[00:15:12]During the Soviet era, there were over 4.2 million personnel serving in the military, four times more than Russia.

[00:15:19]However, Russia's compensation mechanism for officers and soldiers is also better than that of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. Russia is also said to have adopted some experiences from the US and some Western countries in building a neat, regular, and professional army.

[00:15:36]Currently, 60% of Russian military personnel are regular soldiers who are well-trained.

[00:15:45]In addition, after the wars in the Caucasus, Chech South Ossetia, and the current war in Ukro in Ukraine, many contract combat units are also utilized to carry out missions in the shadows of the Russian government.

[00:15:59]Overall, Russia's military mobilization system appears more streamlined, suitable for domestic economic conditions, and the current global context. Honnets. Although its capabilities were more limited compared to earlier military structures, during its peak era, it was considered one of the largest and most >> Russia, however, has many items that are still inferior to the US. However, Moscow is currently not unilaterally confronting the entire Western block.

[00:16:23]Throughout different periods of global influence, maintaining international partnerships and economic support networks placed significant pressure on large political alliances. While Russia is receiving very active support from China, a comprehensive counterweight to the US from economy to military. Rana.

[00:16:41]Russia and China, as common adversaries, are cooperating very actively in all aspects, from economy In addition, Iran and North Korea also show potential to become useful partners for Russia in the future.

[00:16:56]This truly helps reduce the burden and promotes Russia to extend its influence beyond its borders.

[00:17:03]At this point, we can see that if we consider overall capability, Russia, as [music] the legal successor to the Soviet Union, still cannot compare to its predecessor. This happened because of the historical upheavals in the 1990s, which stripped away many valuable assets and brought a period of chaos to the country.

[00:17:20]It was not until 2000 that the Russian army began to enter a period of recovery and development in some new directions.

[00:17:28]Therefore, their military power declined. In terms of military construction methods, the current Russians have learned from past experiences.

[00:17:36]They do not engage in an all-out arms race with the United States, paying less attention to display military potential.

[00:17:43]But focusing on building a pragmatic army more suitable for current combat.

[00:17:48]Russia also does not face a difficult problem like the Soviet Union, which was to unilaterally confront the Western world at a time when they were very powerful.

[00:18:00]Their opponent itself, after a long period at its peak, showed signs of weakening, cracking, and complacency.

[00:18:08]Moreover, their closest friendly partners, especially China, also cooperate very actively.

[00:18:15]All to ensure that Russia's military forces move towards a more sustainable future.

[00:18:25]However, some negative issues in the Russian army still exist, such as corruption, negativity, and cumbersome in Google Galaxy into lightest.

[00:18:34]In the war in Ukraine, Russia has not yet been able to achieve a decisive victory, forcing the This situation inadvertently creates conditions for opponents to wear down their strengths. The path to regain However, these are just the personal opinions of the military knowledge team.

[00:18:52]So, what are your views?

[00:18:56]With the current military development policy, can the Russian army reach a level comparable to the Soviet Union before in the direction of compensating quantity with quality? Please let us know by commenting below.

[00:19:12]Thank you for watching.