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Russia a Third World Country?

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Russia a Third World Country?
A Ukrainian soldier checks a destroyed Russian tank, in Irpin close to Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 1, 2022. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
Stephen Bryen
Updated:
Commentary

In October 1985, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev visited France where he met with French President François Mitterrand. In candid conversations, Gorbachev told Mitterrand that the USSR was a Third World country with nuclear weapons, a conclusion that startled Mitterrand and other Western leaders when Gorbachev’s description was privately circulated.

Stephen Bryen
Stephen Bryen
Author
Dr. Stephen Bryen is regarded as a thought leader on technology security policy, twice being awarded the Defense Department’s highest civilian honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal. A Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Policy, Senior Fellow, Yorktown Institute, his most recent book is “Technology Security and National Power: Winners and Losers.”
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