Following the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the Soviet Union split into fifteen separate countries. Russia was chosen to keep the nuclear weapons, the majority of the land, and the capital. In recent years, Russia has been plagued by terrorist attacks in various forms. There have been over 20 devastating attacks in the past 10 years that have killed some 1400 people and injured hundreds more. In many of the hostage situations, the Russian commandos killed civilians, and usually failed in their attempts to accomplish their goals. Many attacks are by Chechen rebels, but there are an increasing number of organized, non-Chechen terror cells. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has recently been negotiating with Iran about disarmament of their nuclear weapons program. Russia has been getting much more serious about defending their country from terrorism since the attack on a school last September. Others that fueled negotiations include the capture of the interior ministry building, and the two airliners blown up over Russia. Can Russia pull its act together and fight alongside the United States in the War on Terror? Russia can fight terror, but fighting alongside the United States could mean a number of things. First of all, Russia would have to regroup many of its former military units that reside in a number of the other fourteen countries, or it would have to construct a new and effective fighting force. Only then would Russia be able to aid the United States in the War on Terror. Russia could also help the United States by allowing U.S. military units to use Russian airfields and soil for bases of operations. In this situation, Russia could give the Untied States resources or money for the War on Terror. And another possibility is for Russia to help the U.S. with negotiations between countries like North Korea and Iran. This is very probable because North Korea and Iran are both in Russia’s backyard. The fact still remains that Russia is not a major power at the moment nor does it have enough weight to throw around. However, it seems that the former communist country will not fully wage war quite yet, and when it does so will probably not help aid the United States. This is because Russia has a great deal of national pride and will want to fight terrorism separately for the sake of their dignity. Russia has a long way to come from its present condition. In order to effectively fight terrorism within its border and around the world, Russia needs to become economically and industrially powerful. Vladimir Putin needs to do more than just rally Russians in order to return to being the major power it was for much of the twentieth century. Putin needs to fight and prevent terrorism within his borders, and this will probably take many years to accomplish.
