Nixon Makes Prescient Prediction About Russia and China in Resurfaced Video

A video of former President Richard Nixon speaking about the future of Russia in 1992 has gone viral on social media.

The video, posted by the Richard Nixon Foundation on its Twitter page, shows a brief clip of Nixon speaking on March 30, 1992 about the future of Russia. The video has so far been viewed over 130,000 times.

He warned that the Cold War, the period of geopolitical tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union between 1947 and 1991, was not completely over.

Nixon said that it was vital that Russia prosper going forward or risk the rise of what he called a new despotism. He added that Russia's success would also influence the behavior of China.

"Russia, at the present time, is at a crossroad," Nixon said.

"It is often said that the Cold War is over and the West has won it, that is only half true.

"Because what has happened is that the communists have been defeated but the ideas of freedom now are on trial.

"If they don't work there will be a reversion to not communism–which has failed–but what I call a new despotism, which would pose a mortal danger to the rest of the world.

"This is because it would be infected with the virus of Russian imperialism which of course has been a characteristic of Russian foreign policy for centuries."

Nixon then highlighted the importance of freedom succeeding in Russia and the possible consequences should it fail.

He paid close attention to China and highlighted the country would be looking carefully at Russia's progress.

"Therefore, the West has, the United States has, all those who want peace and freedom in the world, a great stake in freedom succeeding in Russia," Nixon continued.

"If it succeeds it will be an example for others to follow, it will be an example for China to follow [and] for the other communist states, the few that remain.

"If it fails, it means that the hardliners in China will get a new life.

"They will say that if it failed there there is no reason for us to turn to democracy. That is part of what is at stake here."

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine following Russia's invasion has put Russian President Vladimir Putin's leadership into the spotlight.

He recently told Russian lawmakers that the war in Ukraine has signaled the end of the U.S.-led international order.

During a meeting with the Russian parliament's leadership, Putin took aim at the Western response to the war, which has included tough sanctions that his country has had to face.

"They should have realized that they have already lost from the very beginning of our special military operation," Putin said on July 7, using the official Russian term for the war in Ukraine. "Its beginning also means the beginning of a radical breakdown of the American world order."

Putin said that "this is the beginning of the transition from liberal-globalist American ego-centrism to a truly multi-polar world" and that this process "can no longer be stopped."

Newsweek has contacted the Richard Nixon Foundation for comment.