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Resurgent Russia Vows to Beef Up Military

'Colossus' created with $1B Venezuela military loan, oil deal

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 27, 2008 6:21 AM CDT

(Newser) – Russia signed a $1 billion military loan deal with Venezuela yesterday while pledging to upgrade its own military, the New York Times reports. The country plans to ratchet its defense budget back up to Cold War levels next year and intends to have new warships built by 2020. President Dmitry Medvedev said the Georgia conflict exposed serious weaknesses, and he vowed to return Russia to a state of permanent combat readiness.

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez hailed the defense loan and the creation of a joint oil consortium as "a colossus being born.” Pentagon chiefs downplayed the significance of the deal but others worried that a fierce—and unpredictable—bear has stirred from hibernation. The country “has risen from its knees," one military analyst said. “Russia wants to behave as a great power.”

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Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, speaks with commander of Russian land forces Gen. Vladimir Boldyrev as he watches military exercises, September 26, 2008. (AP Photo)

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez shake hands during their meeting in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, walks past soldiers at military exercises near Orenburg, about 800 miles southeast of Moscow, on Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. (AP Photo)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez applaud at a signing ceremony in Orenburg, about 800 miles southeast of Moscow, on Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. (AP Photo)

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stand at a map before a signing ceremony in Orenburg, 800 miles southeast of Moscow, on Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. (AP Photo)

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Just recently we have had to rebuff an aggression by the Georgian regime and, as we found, a war can flare up suddenly and can be absolutely real.
- Russian president Dmitry Medvedev

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Resurgent Russia Vows to Beef Up Military