Russia is a second world country because the terms "first world" and "second world" originated during the Cold War, with first world countries being aligned wit

Russia is a second world country because the terms "first world" and "second world" originated during the Cold War, with first world countries being aligned with the US and second world countries being aligned with Russia/the Soviet Union by definition. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_World The common use of these terms has since shifted in meaning. To be honest, I haven't really heard people use the term "second world" in a long time.