Russia Can Turn Food Into a Weapon in Future Crises
Putin’s drive to sanction-proof the country means Moscow now exports food on a grand scale. It can use that to its advantage.
Dominating the market.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergOne of Russia’s greatest strategic weaknesses has recently turned into an advantage. Climate change may tilt the balance further in Moscow’s favor.
Farm production — traditionally an area in which Russia has underperformed due to the low quality of its frigid, drought-prone agricultural land — has boomed over the past decade. That’s important, because food exports have long been a crucial contributor to security and diplomacy, and one in which the amply fed U.S. and European Union have an inbuilt advantage. Even if President Vladimir Putin is found to have overplayed a weak hand in his invasion of Ukraine, food is one area where Russia’s sway is set to increase rather than deteriorate in the coming decades.