Putin took Crimea from them and then started a separatist movement in eastern Ukraine so that Russia now controls a large percentage of what used to be Ukraine.
Putin wants to block the pipeline through Syria and has shown he’s willing to done what he has to in Syria to keep Assad in power.
Controlling the flow of natural gas to Europe is what is most important.
He’s former KGB.
The removal of other strongmen in the region has been disastrous. Removing Assad should not be the goal. Putin is not going to give up Syria.
We tried our hand at nation-building in Iraq, Syria would be worse.
We should have stayed out entirely and not armed the jihadists.
We have to stop Iran and Hezbollah. If we are smart we will find a way to give Russia a graceful way out provided they take a hands off with Iran
Other than possibly proving he had more knowledge of the world outside the Soviet Union than most people, his being former KGB is damn near meaningless given the fact that under the Soviet system the government told you where you were going to work once you graduated from college (if they let you go to college before assigning you a job). IOW, it's not like he had a choice until the USSR fell apart.
Get your time line right. Get your cast right.
Your last line is correct: We should have stayed out entirely and not armed the jihadists.
ISIS is a US/Obama creation, and has done far worse things than Assad or Saddam Hussein, in the short time they've held sway in that area.