Now that we have taken a close look at the United States and China, it is time to delve into Russia—a formidable superpower with deep historical roots and contemporary influence that shape global dynamics. Understanding Russia’s role in World Order is crucial for grasping the intricate strategies players must navigate to secure victory.
In the growingly conflictual world shaped by the great power competition, a term that political scientists use to refer to as what journalists love to call the Cold War 2.0, Russia stands as a formidable force that is better not to mess with.
Russia, with its vast natural resources like cobalt, copper, diamonds, gold, and rare earth minerals, is a major global producer. It also has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal from the USSR and significant geopolitical influence due to its size as the largest country. In both the game World Order and in real life, Russia is a powerful superpower.
Russia’s inclusion as one of the four playable superpowers in World Order was inevitable. Historically, Russia has played a pivotal role in international politics and conflicts, from the days of the Tsars into the present day, with its army providing critical support to Europe during Napoleon’s wars and exhausting Nazi Germany during World War II.
Its vast landmass, which nowadays stretches across Europe and Asia, but that once also touched the central Pacific and North America, has given Russia access to an unequaled wealth of natural resources, including oil, natural gas, and minerals, making it also a food and an energy superpower with significant leverage over global markets. Numbers speak loud: Russia is the world-first natural gas exporter and diamond producer, the world-second oil exporter and platinum producer, and the world-third coal exporter and gold producer. To put it simply: globalization cannot exist without Russia.
Besides natural resources, in modern times, Russia’s ability to influence the world stage is rooted in the will to use its powerful military and in the development of a sophisticated approach to hybrid warfare. This combination of hard and soft power, which can be dubbed smart power, has allowed Russia to maintain its status as a key player in international relations, despite its notorious struggle to build a stable and prosperous economy, and to become one of the main challengers to Western hegemony – the other is China – all over the world.
In World Order, Russia’s vast natural resources are the cornerstone of its power. As the world’s leading producer and exporter of oil and minerals, Russia has the ability to get huge economic return every round and to build a resource-based diplomacy – just like in real life. In addition to energy, Russia’s agricultural capacity makes it a significant player in terms of food production. This dual capacity in energy and food production gives Russia a robust economic foundation, allowing players to sustain their power even in the face of other challenges.
Militarily, Russia is a major power – numbers and facts say so. Its powerful conventional forces, which are made up by almost four million soldiers, combined with its 6,000 warheads-strong nuclear arsenal and its world-extended web of unconventional forces – from Global South-based guerrilla groups to private military companies –, ensure that Russia remains an influential force on world stage and a powerful factor of destabilization. In World Order, players can deploy these forces to defend their territory, project power abroad, and deter potential adversaries.
Additionally, one of the most distinctive aspects of playing as Russia in World Order is the ability to engage in hybrid warfare, such as coups and cyber-attacks. In the real world, Russia has mastered the use of non-traditional forms of conflict, notably cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns, entryism, cognitive operations, and deployment of private military companies, These low-cost, high-impact tools allow Russia to achieve its objectives without direct and costly military confrontations, making it a subtle but formidable adversary.
In the game, players can utilize some of these hybrid tactics, like cyber-attacks, to destabilize rivals. Meanwhile, private military companies can be deployed to engage in other operations everywhere in the world.
These hybrid capabilities give players a range of options beyond conventional means, allowing for a more nuanced and strategic approach to global domination. By carefully balancing overt military strength with covert operations, players can keep their enemies off balance and maintain the upper hand in complex geopolitical situations.
But Russia’s role in the game is not just about brute force or economic might: it’s also about building alliances in the Global South. Throughout history, Russia has forged alliances to counterbalance Western powers and extend its influence into key regions. In World Order, players can experience this tradition by forming alliances with other nations, particularly those in the Western Hemisphere, such as Cuba and Venezuela.
These alliances serve multiple purposes. First, they provide Russia with strategic footholds close to the United States, allowing players to project power into the Western Hemisphere and challenge American dominance in its own backyard. Second, these partnerships can pave the way for the establishment of military bases that threaten US interests. By aligning with countries that share anti-Western sentiments or have historical ties with Russia, players can create a real world-resembling network of allies.
Victory in World Order as Russia requires players to master a combination of energy management, military strategy, and hybrid warfare. The key to success lies in leveraging Russia’s unique strengths while ensuring that the regions adjacent to Russia fall under its sphere of influence. Maintaining a network of strategic alliances is essential to counterbalance the influence of rival powers, especially the Western ones, with the possibility of teaming up with China. Just like in real world, World Order’s Russia aspires to build an anti-hegemonic coalition able and willing to confront the West and court the Global South, having as its horizon the end of the Unipolar Moment and the arrival of multipolarism.
As you explore the complexities of Russia’s power, remember that the ultimate challenge lies in mastering its unique mechanics. Don’t miss your chance to be part of this exciting journey—get notified for our upcoming Kickstarter campaign and secure your copy of World Order!