Recommendable! However, despite its title, the article is seriously lacking of policy recommendations how to deal with a declining Russia! The article is more about describing the decline!
Getting rid of dangerous autocrat Putin the Terrible would be a high priority!
"[Russia's] GDP is only US$1.7 trillion, compared with US$21 trillion for the United States. In 1989, the Soviet economy was twice the size of China’s; today, Russia’s GDP is one-seventh that of China. Moreover, Russia is heavily dependent on energy exports ... The public health system is weak, and average Russian life expectancy, at 72 (male and female), is five years shorter than in Europe. United Nations demographers project that Russia’s population may decline from 145 million today to 121 million by mid-century. ... Nonetheless, there are serious obstacles to a close Sino-Russian alliance that goes much beyond tactical coordination. Residual mistrust persists. In the 19th century, no country took more land from China than Russia did, and the current demographic situation in the Far East—where Russians number 6 million, and the population on the Chinese side of the border is up to 120 million—is a source of anxiety in Moscow.
Russia’s economic decline has increased its concern about the rise of China. While trade has increased, investment lags, and Russia ranks only 10th among China’s export markets. ... Russia worries about becoming the alliance’s junior partner—more dependent on China than China is on Russia
Declining powers merit as much diplomatic attention as rising ones do."
How to deal with a declining Russia | The Strategist: The Kremlin is on a roll. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has replaced the United States in Syria, continues to intervene in Eastern Ukraine, and recently hosted an African summit in Sochi. Appearances, however, can ...
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