One of the founding members of the Northern Defense Coalition, Russia is far more integrated with the West than ever before, so much so that some are beginning to say, the Northern World, rather than Western. With a surging economy thanks to their status as a major Natural Gas exporter, Russia is one of the main oil suppliers to the developing world. Russia is also home to the second largest space program in the world, and is beginning efforts to send a manned mission to Mars, as a jumping off point for the Asteroid Belt's plethora of resources.