You’re a writer! And though msm is in a fever to represent Putin as a bumbling half-wit looking for a first clue, I think you captured the grasp and scope of his strategic prowess very well. I listened to his speech prior to launch and was deeply impressed, but had not inspected the highlight events you named in anywhere near the interesting detail of your assessment. Good writing!
I barely remembered Peter the Great and Catherine. Putin remembers, in chapter and verse!
Which is pretty normal for a Russian who likes his tribe and culture, and consistently supports the whole of it.
Many other peoples have similar individuals in their cultures.
The problem the West has with Putin is he regularly scuttles their plans to steal Russian Natural Resources and Russian Assets from Russia.
There is evidence in Putin's policy and recent Russian Federation Law, that Putin intends to return Russian Natural Resources and Land to the Russian People in general, however, if that is his true intent, we will only know when it is finally accomplished.