After many decades, Russia makes an interesting difference in its army

Western sanctions and the long recession forced the Russian Army to reduce spending by 20 per cent last year.

This is its first contraction in almost two decades, the International Institute for Peace, headquartered in Stockholm, said in a report.

Despite Russia's showing military muscles worldwide, with the annexation of Crime in 2014, with the support of separatists east of Ukraine and its involvement in the Syria war since 2015, Moscow has been forced to cut military spending in a way that questions future operations, the report said.

According to him, Russia is now fourth in terms of military spending, while in the first three countries are the United States, China and Saudi Arabia.

The report also remembers this is Russia's first contraction of military expenditures since 1998, when the Russian economy has collapsed.