The Russian elites want to undermine the West at every turn. The problem is: they have a vested interest in keeping the corruption here *alive* because of all their money stored in bank accounts in the U.S. and in other Western countries.
But now that Trump has come in, the system they’ve relied on, and which has faithfully delivered for them is being shaken. (Or rather, the rules that should have been in place the whole time are suddenly being enforced.)
As for average (non-oligarch) Russian people aka (99.9 percent of their population) - the Kremlin propaganda media machine relies on American instability to distract Russians from their own.
The biggest threat to Putin is a stable, well-run, economically thriving America living up to our principles. Because we then only serve to expose the fraudulent, corrupt, decrepit nature of his own state of affairs . And the more his people become attuned to this this reality, the more the stirrings for change among the Russian populace crescendo.
The biggest threat to US Literals agenda of destroying our constitution, is a stable, well-run, economically thriving Russia living up to what once was our principles.
Of course the other threat is Trump. His initial approving comments regarding Putin stirred up USSR haters world wide against the new Russia..
Trump is on a roll and with oil prices on the up tick so is Putin.
Hopefully more success to both. It would be a coalition that can save what was the western world.