, Columnist
Why Putin Is Rattling His Superweapons
He wants respect, but he'll end up getting an arms race Russia can't win.
Superweapons ≠ superpower.
Photographer: Valya Egorshin/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesRussian President Vladimir Putin's surprise dissertation on Russia's new strategic weaponry, attached to Thursday's state of the nation address, mixed some well-known technological advances with a few genuine revelations. But the technical specifics are perhaps less important than the message Putin sent to the U.S.: The cost of a conventional war remains far too high.