“The Second Most Powerful Army” is an acrylic painting by Andy Renard, created on New Year’s Eve 2024. It depicts a political leader from the Kremlin driving a World War II-era T-34 tank alone, symbolizing Russia’s military shortcomings in Ukraine.
The second most powerful army
Number: 115
Name: The Second Most Powerful Army
Swedish name: Den näst mäktigaste armén
Date: New Year’s Eve 2024
Technique: Acrylic painting on canvas
Dimensions: 24x 33 x 1,7 cm (9 x 13″)
Owner:
Description of ”The Second Most Powerful Army”
The story behind the painting
On New Year’s Eve, I challenged myself to paint a picture in two hours. I came up with a motif, sketched, and started painting. To save time, I chose a small format for the canvas: 24 x 33 cm, which is a little bigger than an A4 sheet of paper.
Earlier in the day I had seen news from the war and Russia’s failed attempt to invade Ukraine. It made me think a little.
For most of my life, Russia (also through the Soviet Union) has tried to show itself strong and also to spread fear with its powerful military. If the Russian bear roared – then everyone would shake with fear.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, however, it was clear that the army was not as powerful as the Russians had made it seem. It was corrupt, outdated, and lacked a functioning structure and logistics.
Putin changed this and modernized the army in every way. Now, the world would fear Russia and the oligarchs again. He deployed the modernized army in a war of invasion against Ukraine, but he used old tactics and strategies.
Now, most of their modern weapons are out of date or inoperable due to lack of maintenance. Russian soldiers are forced to use equipment from the Cold War and even earlier.
So, Russia went from being the second most powerful military power in the world to becoming the second most powerful in Ukraine.
Russia – The second most powerful army in
the worldUkraine
About the painting
The painting depicts a certain political leader in the Kremlin driving a tank. The vehicle is an old T-34 from World War II and the driver is alone.
Andy Renard
