If a conventional war were to break out between the US and Russia, the US would easily win. However, few people believe this scenario will happen. Russia has been aggressively undermining America’s 25-year claim to be the world’s only superpower and has unexpectedly become America’s top military rival.

Today, the Russians have the second largest number of nuclear warheads behind the Americans. They have also conducted over 700 nuclear tests. The USSR created the world’s biggest nuclear bomb, the Tsar Bomba, which has a blast yield of 50 megatons of TNT. The Soviets have been developing and testing nuclear weapons for over fifty years.

However, the US Navy has a much larger aircraft carrier fleet than Russia. The US Navy has ten carriers and the Russians have one. The US uses its aircraft carriers for offensive power projection at sea, while the Russians are investing in an expanding fleet of submarines to complement its nuclear force and conventionally threaten enemy surface fleets in the area. The US also maintains a world-spanning network of military bases.

Although both nations have a relatively old education system, both are committed to raising a well-educated population in order to propel their nations forward. Both have developed high-tech industries and high-quality technology because of their formal education. The US and the Soviet Union have both government-funded public and private schools. However, the US government sets the educational system for the country. Its department of education controls what the schools teach.