Putin misidentified Japan as his primary adversary and fought the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) instead of investing in railways and armament production to deal with Germany, which destroyed his dynasty 10 years later; Putin is similarly misidentifying his primary adversary by fighting Ukraine when China represents a greater long-term territorial threat to Russia, exemplifying how recreational wars allow real adversaries to gain advantage.
causalpending
Speaker
Dr. Sally PayneEvidence Quote
“uh Nicholas II tried this he decided that Japan was his primary enemy and off he goes to the Russo Japanese war... instead of investing in Railways and Armament production to deal with Germany which comes and destroys his dynasty 10 years later he's fighting Japanese well Putin is doing his emptied out his Cold War arsenals uh on Ukraine and the ukrainians never were after Russian territory the Chinese might well be”
Source
NWC 2025 INS Lecture - Dr. Sarah Paine: Geopolitics, Cold War Lessons and the Way Forward— U.S. Naval War CollegeCreated: 8/11/2026, 7:04:38 AM
My Notes
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