That would be a nice claim if they developed the area they already own to an extend that could be described as „amazing“. The reality is, nothing is this country is amazingly developed. Not the actual ground. Not the education. Not the social structures. Not the rights of the citizens. There is no plan, no idea and no concept to use the already existing sprawling land to develop it into something great. There is no vision, only autocracy.
Instead what this claim means is two fold:
Putin desperately wants to export the “russian system” of disillusionment into the world. Putin wants to transform the area around his country into a fertile soil for his ideology to make his (flawed) system becoming an accepted modus operandi.
For a big part of Russians citizens, it is important to identify their Russian country as on par with a world power like China or the US. The “big war” of 1945 and its outcome shaped the understanding of Russians for decades on how they view themself and their country. There is nothing to be proud of other than that “they won the war”. Nothing in the last 80 years comes close to it. Especially after the fall of the Soviet Union. The claim in OP picture is therefore a deposit into that mindset, that russia is great and their influence (like China and the US) do not stop at the border. The only difference is: China and the US would never say this loud. It is counter productive for the goal to openly admitting that. But russia has to openly tell it, as their real tractions and gains in that regard are minimal and can only be made visible by stating that they are indeed on par with the other super powers - even though they were not even able to logistically manage a war just in their neighboring country. Their influence rapidly drops with the distance. Georgia, Syria and Ukraine are the most the can fight in. For Africa only light infantry can be supplied. There are no big bases, no logistic hubs in geopolitical strategic places crafted in the last 100 years in foreign diplomacy. Yet, because of that, is is important for russia to just pretend all that. For the believe in their greatness.
I agree with a lot of this. The one exception I would like to mention: I as an American am impressed by Sputnik, Laika, Strelka and Belka, Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and a whole host of steps in the space race that I believe is why we are where we are today in space exploration and satellite technology. They aren’t leading the pack now but they were, maybe recklessly, for a good chunk of the beginning.
*as an achievement in the past 80 years if that wasn’t clear what I meant. ✌️
Tereshkova is a piece of shit imperialist and Putinist (there's a reason she's sanctioned by the EU and US) who was sent to space to further the Soviet political agenda and not due to actually being good at anything. Her only merit was being shot into space on command, she was never exceptionally good at anything
