Everything is merely a national show, an attempt to deceive the public and seek more citizen support for war.
Russia is far from its former glorious days. While the US and China are in intense competition in the space race, and entrepreneurs like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are pioneering in civil aviation, Russia sent a spacecraft to the Moon again after 47 years.
The architecture of the sent spacecraft dates back to the Soviet era. The design of the Soviet Luna spacecraft from 1970 has been blended with modern technology.
As usual, Putin is trying to portray himself and his nation as glorious and powerful.
So, can he succeed?
In a closed-off country where the internet and television are controlled by the authorities, and where opposition is silenced, of course, he can succeed. In a nation with such a mechanism of societal control, convincing the people of national glory and being a superpower is very easy!
Written by Umut Guner