An obstacle is something to be removed and this is what Putin wants to do to America. We are the main target of an entity that sees only vassals and enemies. Putin’s grandfather was Stalin’s cook and Putin is trying to rehabilitate Stalin. What do you think the world would look like if there was no America at the end of WWII to counter Soviet expansionism? Do you not think it’s possible Putin likes Stalin’s vision? They lost Cold War I. Maybe they will turn Cold War II hot. Do you not think it’s possible they have first strike plans that only take Putin’s say so to implement? Putin is a psychopath who does not deserve respect, admiration or understanding of any kind. If our political class will not oppose him, the American people along with the rest of the world’s people should.
The late communist regime is just familiar. The Czars before it were just as menacing, and justifiably so. Putin has tried to embrace all of it, Czarism as well as their Soviet past.
That is, were Putin a Czar, he would likely be behaving in exactly the same way. The German expression holds true: “Russia remains Russia.”