The power of the Russian Navy pushes Putin to bellicose rhetoric for the first time

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his speech dedicated to the Day of the Russian Navy, recalled the threats that Russia is currently facing from a number of countries.

Putin speaks bellicose rhetoric

Experts noted that Putin resorted to the rhetoric of threats for the first time as he vowed "to destroy anyone, anywhere."

Putin spoke not only about the historical significance of the date, but he also mentioned those who positioned themselves as Russia's opponents.

Putin's speech on the Day of the Russian Navy was full of admiration at the scale of the transformations that the Russian Navy has seen recently. Putin recalled that in October the Russian Navy would turn 325 years old. Over all these years, he said, the fleet has come a long way "from the small boat of Peter the Great to powerful warships of the ocean zone."

He also spoke:

• about effective naval aviation,
• reliable coastal defense complexes,
• unique hypersonic missiles.

The president said that the fleet had everything to guarantee the protection of borders and national interests. Putin separately noted that Russian navy men were capable of detecting any enemy anywhere.

"We can detect underwater, surface or aerial enemies and target them if a lethal strike is necessary," the Russian president said.

The phrase became a bombshell in mass media both in Russia and in the West.

According to Putin, the Russian Navy has established its presence in almost all regions of the World Ocean.

Political scientist Alexei Roshchin said that the parade was a record-breaking event in:

• 4,000 navy men,
• more than 50 ships, boats and submarines,
• 48 airplanes and helicopters of naval aviation.

Addressing Russian citizens, he also sent a signal to external partners about the power of the Russian Navy. Yet, the number of problems that the Russian Navy is facing todays is considerably smaller than during the 1990s, but still there are plenty of them.

Ivan Konovalov, the head of the Russian Center for Strategic Conjuncture, a member of the Valdai Discussion Club, linked Putin's rhetoric with recent provocations near Russian borders.

Putin made it clear that Russia was able to respond to those challenges.

During the recent years, the Russian Navy has obtained:

• new ships and aircraft,
• air defense systems,
• infrastructure — berths and bases on which they will be located.

Military expert Yuri Knutov said that the demonstration of power was an important indicator of the country's development. Russia now has high-precision and hypersonic missile weapons (Caliber", Onyx, Zircon missiles) and, as a result, new small missile boats, frigates, including for the use in the ocean zone.

The Russian Navy has thus become superior to many of the world's naval forces in terms of its technical development and the ability to solve combat missions, and Putin has shown the whole world that the Russian Navy must be reckoned with.