Compare armed forces

Military power of Russia & BRICS

Russia vs BRICS

Show map

Russia BRICS

Russia is a country located in North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean with an area of 17,098,242 km² (land boundries: 22,407 km and costline 37,653 km). The capital of Russia is Moscow. The number of inhabitants is 146,171,015.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with an estimated 150 k troops. Russia is the leading member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The Russian Federation's military is equipped with domestically-produced weapons systems. Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware and has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.

More about Russia military

BRICS (acronym - Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is a grouping of the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Bilateral relations among BRICS are conducted mainly on the basis of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit. The BRICS nations are considered a geopolitical rival to the G7 bloc.

On August 24, 2023, the expansion of the group on January 1, 2024 was announced to include Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. On 29 December 2023 the Government of Argentina officially announce that Argentina will not join the BRICS. This is due to the change of president to Javier Milei.

If you want to check the comparison in terms of economic ratios check out CompareEconomy.com

Military expenditures

Military budget

86.4 billion $

642.8 billion $

Percent of GDP

4.1 %

0 %

Manpower

Active personnel

1,000,000

6,345,000

Reserve personnel

2,000,000

7,754,000

Available for military

34,765,736

992,083,395

Land Forces

Tanks

12,267

30,277

Armoured fighting vehicles

24,172

72,901

Total artillery

18,266

40,650

Self-propelled artillery

6,443

12,316

Rocket artillery

4,331

11,343

Air Forces

Total aircraft

4,418

15,826

Fighter

340

1,484

Multirole

382

2,830

Attack

689

1,330

Helicopters

1,665

5,511

UCAV (combat drone)

100

393

Navy

Total naval

653

2,809

Aircraft carriers

1

12

Destroyers

14

77

Frigates

11

105

Corvettes

80

215

Submarines

66

194

Nuclear weapons

Russia

The second most important state when it comes to researching, developing, and then storing nuclear weapon. Although the Russians managed to catch up with Americans later on, it was only in 1949 that the first nuclear test conducted by then the Soviet Union occurred. It was still quite a surprise for the Western Powers, who believed that Russia won’t be capable of producing nuclear warheads until 1953-1954. After the first test, the nation in question started to rapidly increase the amount of warheads they possessed. In the end of 1980s, they were the leading power when it comes to total number of warheads stored. It was approximately 40,000 warheads.

Nowadays, similarly to United States, the Russians store a total number of 6490 warheads, what is scarcely more than USA. When it comes to the number of deployed warheads, the amount is the same as in case of Americans, namely 1600 deployed warheads. We should also remember about the fact that Russia conducted over 700 tests, what makes them the second most important nation when it comes to developing nuclear weapons. However, it was the Soviet Union that managed to create the biggest bomb in the world. Known as Tsar Bomba, it had blast yield of 50 megatons of TNT.

BRICS

Data not available

Military service

Russia

18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 1-year service obligation (conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after 6 months of training); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces.

BRICS

Data not available