But it would be very dangerous politically to allocate a lot of ressources to the military after the war, when the country is in dire need of restoration to where they were before the war.
I’d argue the reverse, Putin isn’t ruling democratically, he doesn’t need votes or approval. He DOES need a very strong military to stay in power, which is why Russia has the “national guard”, Rosgvardiya, under the sole authority of the president.
Of course, a palace guard military has very different material demands, and their main use is against civilians and other military, so the level of equipment can be decreased, but for a dictator to have a country full of disgruntled veterans is a very dangerous thing.
I’d argue the reverse, Putin isn’t ruling democratically, he doesn’t need votes or approval. He DOES need a very strong military to stay in power, which is why Russia has the “national guard”, Rosgvardiya, under the sole authority of the president.
Of course, a palace guard military has very different material demands, and their main use is against civilians and other military, so the level of equipment can be decreased, but for a dictator to have a country full of disgruntled veterans is a very dangerous thing.
Keeping your own population in check is way cheaper than waging war. Your own population doesn’t have their own military.