How strongly committed are Russian ruling circles to the idea that the USA is a power in decline, and a federal state in the process of breaking down? There are memes floating about claiming that Russian social scientists (among others) believe that the USA is fated to go the way of the USSR (not such a daft idea, since 2016).
But does the Russian establishment, foreign policy wonks etc., actually believe this? If so, it would make sense to just keep acting the maggot on a regular basis, engaging in managed crises that rattle sabres without ever fully drawing them from their sheaths, and wait for the attendant stresses to speed their rival onwards to the dustbin of history?
E2A:
This is the 'meme' (well, blog post, more like?) I was thinking of:
My talk tonight is about the lack of collapse-preparedness here in the United States. I will compare it with the situation in the Soviet Union, prior to its collapse.I watched the Soviet Union collapse, and I have tried to put my observations into a concise message. I will leave it up to you to...
www.resilience.org