Why Every Army That Invaded Russia Lost — And Always Will

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Now, let's talk about the largest country in the world. It spans 11 time zones and two [music] continents. Would it be even remotely possible to invade Russia? As history has shown us, there is zero chance of invading force successfully [music] subduing and controlling Russia. Being the largest country by land mass, Russian topography is made [music] up of a little bit of everything. A good portion of the northern part of the country sits in the Arctic, [music] which would make complete invasion of the country just not possible. And here's why. As history has shown, the Russian landscape is brutal. The majority of it is hostile, dry, and cold. Really, really [music] cold. But it actually isn't so much the weather and land that will defeat an invading force, it's the Russian people and [music] what they will do to the land.

[00:00:41]When Napoleon invaded in 1812 and the Axis powers invaded in World War II, neither was successful. Russia is just too big and the Russian people know it.

[00:00:50]They aren't afraid to retreat further and further into the harsh lands of the country. The problem for an invading force is that when Russians retreat, they destroy everything they leave behind. This includes structures for shelter, farms for food, and factories for making and repairing equipment. The Russian people will destroy their own homes before they will let it fall into an invader's hands. And as all militaries who have tried to invade Russia know, if there is nowhere to hide from the brutal Russian weather [music] or food to eat, the war is over and they have lost. The size of Russia is massive, so invaders need to be able to fight in 11 different time zones at [music] the same time if they're going to take the entire country. This makes strategizing the invasion of Russia almost im- possible on its own. Plus, Russia has an active military of over a million people [music] and another 2 million in reserve. They also have support from several of the Soviet Union's former territories [music] and other communist states from around the world. And let's not forget that Russia has the most nuclear weapons stockpiled, only after the United States, with around [music] 1,600 currently deployed and ready to go and another few thousand in reserve.