Geopolitics: Why Russia Wages Wars to Control Warm Water Ports

Russia has fought for centuries to gain control over warm-water ports to facilitate economic development and trade.

The United Nations is a unique classification for landlocked developing countries.

(Here is my behind the paywall link.)

Nations that don’t have access to ports find it more expensive to buy and sell goods internationally.

Without an adequate internal river system, this further hampers the development of the internal and global ability to transport and sell goods and services.

The old Roman Empire is an excellent example of the importance of sea trade.

At the height of its power, it controlled North Africa, Western Europe, and Asia Minor; during that time, the city of Rome got most of its grain supply from Egypt, even though Roman farmers were much closer.

By the time Cleopatra rolled herself out of a carpet at Julius Caesar’s feet, Egyptian exports had accounted for a third of the 16.8 million bushels of grain brought to Rome.

In short, whoever controlled Egypt could starve the City of Rome when Vespasian became Roman emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD.

The fourth and last emperor, who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years.

His fiscal reforms and consolidation of the empire generated political…