Today, despite the sudden blow to its influence due to the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia has returned to be one of the most powerful countries on the planet. From Syria to Serbia to Venezuela, Russian allies have an effective web of power worldwide, and a warming-but-tenuous relation with China is serving to shift world politics as we know them. Some consider Russia a proper counter-balance to U.S. imperialism, others see it as a bastion of oppression and backwards politics. Either way, it seems most hold one opinion or another on the world power.
So, where do you stand on Russian influence? Is Putin the perfect leader, or a cultivator of one of the world's most powerful cults of personality? Is Russia right to intervene in Ukraine and Syria? And could an alliance with China change the course of history, and if so, for better or for worse? I'm a supporter of Putin, though I'm not Russian. I follow Russian politics closely however, and think he's important to Russia, preventing the country from cowing to U.S. political ambition.
All subjects of Russian politics are welcome here. NSG, discuss.