so they have to rely on Soviet tech

Well that part is true enough at least. Capitalist Russia naturally can't innovate as much as Socialist/Soviet Russia could. Even its highly sophisticated public transport like in Moscow are stuff that the USSR built; they'd probably be filled with high-speed rail by now, like China is, if it wasn't overthrown.

Jesus the copium. What's actually happening is that Russia is able to rely on decades old technology because it was built to work and built to last, so 40 years later they can use it in modern warfare and it's still effective. This also means Russia can allocate its resources to outproducing the entirety of the West when it comes to artillery shells, which is actually what's winning this war.

The idea that sanctions hurt Putin personally so he had to buy an election is also ridiculous. He's now a wartime president, just like GWBush was, so getting reelected is even easier now than it was when he was merely the president who reversed the 8 years of declining life expectancy after neoliberal economic reforms destroyed Russia.

Your brain must be a never ending Disney movie.

[citation needed]