Historical perspective

Making the rounds:

“The problem that Russia, since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, has been putting out the military equivalent of show cars. They look good, but it isn’t always clear how practical they are and how many of the specifications they can actually meet.”

Since?

I remember hearing, back in the 1970s, that production Soviet fighters were much inferior to the special ones made for the airshow circuit.

And a lot of the Bolshoi Ivanovich parade hardware reportedly wasn't serious military equipment.

But, hey, that Masonic self-propelled gun looked mighty impressive!