Newly appointed Chief of Staff of the Russian Land Forces, Lieutenant-General Sergey Skokov, recently made a statement that caused a major sensation across the Russian Federation. Speaking about possible conflicts that Russia may face in the future, he outlined three distinct scenarios: fighting in the "western, southern" and eastern" directions.
There is no realistic cause for concern over conflict in the western direction unless Moscow initiates the conflict.
The south, where the frontier of Islam meets Russia, is surely a cause of concern.
But the east, ah yes. There's the real threat. A modernizing and growing China meets Russia's distant and sparsely propulated provinces (much taken from China).
China is now one of three threats the Russians see. I count this as progress.
