alternatehistory.com

In 200 years, Russia went from a country of 35 million (counting the whole of the empire) to 147 million (inside Russia itself). In this same time, the USA went from 5 million people to 281 million. Both countries have advanced by leaps and bounds over the past two centuries, but it is clear who has been the main beneficiary.

The challenge is for Russia to have a population and GDP that still exceeds the USA in 2000. What were the main limitations of Russian growth, and how might they be eliminated? Note that I am counting the Russian population (including immigrants) as being inside Russia itself, so it'll be trickier than just keeping the Soviet Union together to fulfil the requirement of population. And no trying to keep America within the 13 Colonies so that their population and GDP stays relatively small, I want to focus more on potential for Russian growth rather than hindrances for America.
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