In body language terms ...
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| The Body Language Sucks |
...... this photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his defence minister is actually rather telling.
Putin looks hunched and small. Almost defensively or disbelievingly holding the edge of the table and pushed far back in to his chair. Its a marked contrast to the defence Minister who is upright and forward leaning (probably just glad that he's not been shot in a KGB cellar as would have happened 35-40 years ago).
I suspect that Putin
has been rather shocked to discover that his army is so incompetent. He was brought up on he myths and legend of the 'Great Patriotic War' as they called WWII in the Soviet Era when he was a child.
However, what is rather played down in those tales and histories, is that man for man the Germans were far better soldiers, with the Soviet Red Army often winning by using human wave attacks to overwhelm the Nazi's by sheer weight of numbers ... but at terrible costs in men and material:
- On the Soviet side, some 8 - 10 million soldiers died in action against the Nazis, with 4.1 - 5.7 million captured (and approx 3.6 million dying in German POW camps).**
- The Germans lost approximately 4 million* soldiers in action, and 2 million captured (and approx 1 million dying in the Soviet camp system).**
It would appear from what's been reported in the Ukraine, that the modern Russian armies tactics and performance have hardly moved from the WWII era ... despite the supposed modernisation of tactics and equipment of the last 20 years, and the use of semi autonomous battalion tactical groups (BTG's) on the battlefield.
But if you
create a state that runs on cronyism, nepotism and corruption, then you
perhaps shouldn't be to surprised to find that the army is as riddled
with these attributes as the rest of that society. After all, the
conscription based Russian army is merely a reflection of the society it is drawn from.
You reap what you sow.
* excluding other axis fighters who bring the figures up to 5 million dead.
** Also excluding both sides losses prior to 22 June 1941 when Germany invaded the USSR.
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