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As a nationalist Putin longs for the days when Russia was more powerful, and he strives to make it more powerful again, but he’s not out to spread a hostile ideology worldwide. Nationalist Russia is not the Soviet Union.

Yes and no. Yes: Putin is not spreading Marxism/Leninism. BUT Russia is still hostile.

What is Russia spreading? Doubt. Doubt in Western values enshrined in our constitutions and creeds. Doubt in the triumph of freedom. Doubt in the rule if law. Doubt in Western Christianity. And doubt in our cultural and democratic institutions.

Doubt in America's sacred electoral system. Doubt in (and resentment of) America's victorious place of leadership over the current global order that history granted us following World War II.

It is vital to understand the nature of our current conflict with them because it is not as clear-cut as during the Cold War. It is vital we see how they view us in light of what has unfolded in the past century and a half, and how they view themselves. David Satter's article reminds us that they do not accept responsibility for any negative past. They do not accept any "ending" less than victory and expect the world to bend to their reality. To them: the Cold War is not over. And they are owed the fruits of victory in World War II, which the West has looted and took credit for. (In their mind.)

We also must understand Russia's approach to their former Soviet or imperial spheres of influence, which include everyone from Syria to North Korea to Cuba -- not just Ukraine or nextdoor neighbors. They have a vested interest not so much in keeping these places communist, but in keeping them anti-American, unstable, and threatening to the West.

Russia operates differently from China and with different motives, which is why they have not made the same economic gains. And which ie why economic pressures alone do not inspire them to adjust or rein in their aggressive behavior.