When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, marking the end of the long Cold War, the U.S. swooped in not as conqueror but as a partner, aiming to help Russia replace the debris of its destitute and brutal communist system with a market economy and democratic institutions. The hope was for a new era of comity and peace. That did not work out. Russia shed the worst inefficiencies of communism, but under the rule of President Vladimir Putin for the past 22 years has been making a comeback as a predatory autocracy, seeking to expand its reach and revive its role, via both commerce and conquest, as a major world power.
Foreign Affairs