They have never been an economic superpower. There are 10 countries with larger economies -- several significantly larger. The U.S. economy is about 20 times the size of Russia's, and China's is about 14 times larger. Japan's is 5 times as large and Germany's is 3 times as large. Several other nations have twice as large an economy.
In fact, there are three U.S. states with an economy larger than that of Russia -- California, Texas, and New York.
Obviously, Russia is not an economic superpower.
What about being a military superpower? Most people have considered Russia to be a military superpower. But their invasion of Ukraine has exposed that as a myth. Everyone, including Putin, thought the powerful Russian military would roll right through Ukraine, and probably take the country within days.
That has not happened. More than three weeks later, they find themselves bogged down. The Ukrainian military has fought them to a draw -- at least so far. And the West is supplying the Ukrainian military with some sophisticated weapons to fight with. If Russia is able to conquer Ukraine, it will be a long and difficult slog -- and they may not be able to do it at all.
We now know Russia is not a military superpower.
To counter for the weakness of his military, Putin has decided to bomb Ukraine into submission. He is bombing civilians (apartments, hospitals, schools, etc). This is a war crime! And it probably won't work. It will just cost the lives of thousands, if not millions, of Ukrainians. It is genocide!
All of this makes me wonder -- why is the world (especially the U.S. and NATO) allowing this to happen?
Some say doing more (like instituting a no-fly zone) would cause a war. We are already in a war -- not only Ukraine, but also the nations supplying it with weapons. Are we really afraid of the Russian military? So afraid that we will allow genocide? That doesn't speak very well of either our courage or humanity.
Others say it could lead to a nuclear war. Really! Don't the Russians know that would lead to their own destruction. Even if Putin's was crazy enough to use nuclear weapons, I doubt that his generals are that crazy. Such a move would probably result in Putin's removal from power to save Russia from annihilation.
The world, especially the democracies, like to talk about protecting human rights. It is time they acted to do so.