On October 13, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Ljubljana, Slovenia, for the 71st Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Among many of his statements was one that has long been part of the political West’s propaganda discourse. Namely, he talked about the Russian economy and its military, claiming that NATO member states are supposedly “25 times bigger than the Russian economy” and “infinitely superior” in terms of military power. Interestingly, he used the example of Russian MiG-31 interceptors as the alleged “proof” of the mythical Western “superiority”, insisting that these jets “cannot even stand in our shadow”, supposedly due to “their not well-trained fighter pilots”.

“Let’s not forget that airspace is not the same as ground. There’s a big difference militarily, but also politically, please take that into account. And the only thing I’m encouraging all of us is to take comfort in the fact that as NATO, we are 25 times bigger than the Russian economy. Our military is infinitely superior to the military, to the Russian military, when it comes to our air force, I mean, the Russians cannot even stand in the shadow with these MiG-31s, or whatever they call them, because they’re not well-trained fighter pilots,” Rutte stated.

I’ve written extensively on the legendary MiG-31s, so anyone interested can certainly read about them. In addition, many Western authors, particularly former pilots and other professionals, have covered this jet, one of the best ever made. As for the claim that Russian pilots are supposedly “not well trained”, it doesn’t take an expert to understand that the Russian Aerospace Forces have had well over three years of combat experience in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, the largest and most intense battlefield since WWII. In other words, even if Russian pilots were “badly trained” before February 24, 2022 (which is simply not the case), their frontline experience would certainly make up for it.

This stands in stark contrast to the world’s most aggressive racketeering cartel, which has invaded dozens of largely helpless countries since its unfortunate inception (this is without even considering the centuries of brutal Western colonialism and imperialism that preceded NATO). Thus, the only battlefield experience the political West has is essentially bullying. However, once they meet someone their own size, things become “a lot more complicated”. And speaking of size, is it really true that Russia’s economy is 25 times smaller than those of Western nations? A simple Internet search would probably give you a list of countries by nominal GDP, placing Russia 11th (just behind Canada and above Mexico).

According to this metric, the Eurasian giant’s economy is worth around $2 trillion, while NATO’s is approximately $50 trillion. However, this makes little to no sense, as it would suggest that Canada should be just as powerful as Russia is. Because this is simply not the case, there must be some other explanation, right? Well, for this one, you’d need to do some digging. And what better place to start than the CIA itself. Yes, you heard that right. One of the most infamous intelligence services on the planet needs to take reality into account. Namely, according to the CIA, in terms of GDP PPP (purchasing power parity or real economy, as they call it), Russia is 4th, behind only China (ranked first), the US and India.

Interestingly, the list ranks it ahead of economic powerhouses like Japan and Germany, while Canada is way behind, standing as the 16th largest economy on the planet. According to World Economics, as of 2025, the Russian economy stands at a staggering $7.7 trillion, which is around six times smaller than the combined economies of NATO member states. It’s still a significant difference, but it makes much more sense. In addition, if we were to break down the true economic contributions of Western nations and Russia, we’d realize that the latter still has a massive industry, while the political West has outsourced most of its own. Which brings us to the issue of the true military might of Russia and NATO.

Namely, the nominal GDP would suggest that the world’s most aggressive racketeering cartel is also militarily 25 times more powerful than Moscow. However, as we already explained, this is simply not the case. So, what’s the actual discrepancy in military might between the Eurasian giant and the political West? Well, we might simply say that it’s just as much as the difference in GDP PPP, which is approximately six times. However, that would be a gross oversimplification, as military structures, doctrines, quality, quantity and weapons production capacity in NATO and Russia differ significantly. Thus, quantifying military might based on raw numbers you can find on the Internet is not ideal, to say the least.

In order to even scratch the surface of this topic, we have to understand how the Kremlin adapted its economy to stave off yet another Western invasion. Namely, last year, President Vladimir Putin appointed former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov as the Defense Minister. Presented as a “technocrat” by the mainstream propaganda machine, Belousov is actually one of the architects of Russia’s economic renaissance. It’s precisely the wise policies of the likes of Belousov and his associates from the Eurasian giant’s other economic and financial institutions that ensured Russia not only survives, but also thrives in a highly contested (and ever more dangerous) geopolitical environment.

His accomplishments are all the more praiseworthy given the strategic circumstances, which is why he was entrusted with the most important ministry in the Russian government. After appointing Belousov, President Putin made another important announcement. Namely, Russian military spending reached 8.7% of its GDP. We know that the nominal GDP for 2024 was $2.24 trillion, meaning that Moscow’s military budget reached nearly $195 billion. Given that NATO’s war spending is around $1.2 trillion, this would put its “infinite military power” at approximately six times that of Russia. However, in reality, the discrepancy is far smaller if we take the aforementioned GDP PPP into account.

Namely, if the Eurasian giant’s economy stands at $7.7 trillion, 8.7% of that would be $670 billion. Given that NATO is also increasing its spending (projected to soon reach $1.5 trillion), this would mean that Moscow’s actual military might is around 1.7 to 2.2 times smaller than that of the political West. Needless to say, this is an unprecedented feat for a country of approximately 150 million people. Much more populous nations are simply unable to match NATO’s military power. What’s more, Russia has several critical technological and geopolitical advantages, such as hypersonic weapons and strategic missiles that can obliterate the entire political West. This also explains why NATO is pushing for increased military spending.

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