Originally Posted by
Onamist
Resources don't necessarily mean that Russia or Canada will become 'superpowers'. Australia is one of the most resource wealthy nations in the world, but because we lack the facilities to use them we just sell it to other nations (primarily China). Neither Canada nor Russia have the infrastructure or the cheap labour that China has, so neither of those countries will become global powerhouses, not to mention the rampant corruption of Russia's political system. China's population is just so great and they already produce so much of the world's products that their economy is almost certain to maintain the impressive 10% average growth for a number of years to come.
I believe Russian CAN be a superpower but it won't. China is such a strong competitor even threatening the USA which Russia was not able to. Though Russia can be a superpower for several reasons. First is the wages. If you would notice in this
picture that most of Russia's wealth is in places like Moscow, St. Petersburg and other urban cities. So most of Russian rural areas still have an average GDP as of China which stand around $3000 per capita --- This would make lower wages for the labor force which is a positive sign for Russia. Second is their resources; its mere size tells you that Russia has a lot of untapped oil, gas and other natural resources --- Russian labor forces and loans from the US would definitely give the Russians the opportunity to build factories, buildings to accommodate these resources. Lastly, Russia's military is just second to the US --- Having the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, its influence would give Russians a boost for world superiority. The thing that separates Russia from China is China's population. Russia can't compete to that.
Last edited by Aspire; Jul 18, 2010 at 07:59 AM.