Putin needs strong moves to keep the country as one. There is some criticism that he is centralizing power, but in Russia, if you don't centralize power, you have the risk of losing the country.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It's essential for the U.S. and Europe to prevent Putin from going farther and reversing the hard-won independence of former Soviet republics.
Putin has put Russia on a path to be a world power with global influence.
Putin is playing the long game. He has a strategic plan in mind: the Eurasian Union, which would be in competition to Europe.
I think the soft underbelly of Russia is - what's driving their ability to be aggressive is their energy. If you take the energy out of their economy, Russia is not so strong.
Russia needs a strong state power and must have it. But I am not calling for totalitarianism.
Putin probably, almost certainly, thinks that one of the great disasters of the 20th century was the demise of the Soviet Union. It's very obvious that he's trying to work its way back and maintain something similar to that sort of institution.
We, Russia, are prepared to work with others. I am convinced that stability and security in Europe cannot be considered without taking Russia into account.
I think that Putin and his cronies are really a kleptocracy, that are really an imperialist power that want to expand.
Other than being crazy enough to press a button, there is nothing that Putin can do militarily to fundamentally alter American interests.
Russia continues to side with... rogue states and terrorist organizations, following Vladimir Putin's pattern of gratuitous and unpunished affronts to U.S. interests.
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