(U.S. News & World Report) As Russia’s economy crumbles, the war in Ukraine drags on and Moscow’s ties with the West get more and more confrontational, it’s worth asking: Does Vladimir Putin have a plan?
To many of his detractors abroad and loyal supporters at home, the Russian president is decisively executing a strategy to strengthen Russia at the expense of the West. In 2012, when she famously accused Putin of trying to “re-Sovietize” the region around Russia, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton argued, “We know what the goal is and we are trying to figure out effective ways to slow down or prevent it.” […]
Other analysts are even more skeptical. “If anyone was ‘aikido-ed,’ it was Russia in Ukraine,” says Mikhail Troitskiy, an associate professor of international relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. “It took a risk, or was provoked to take a risk, that predictably led Russia into an impasse. I don’t see how Russia can respond asymmetrically without provoking a new round of sanctions that would ruin the Russian economy.”
See the full article ("Decoding Vladimir Putin's Plan") © U.S. News & World Report
