[dfwgator]

And since Putin believes that the collapse of the USSR was the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the previous century

To me that's not a statement that he necessarily agreed with the USSR....what he lamented was the loss of Russian prestige and power.

Hitler also lamented the loss of German prestige after WWI, but that didn't mean he wanted to restore the Kaiser.

[lodi90]

The USSR was simply the Russian Empire in the 20th century. Russian history is all connected and Putin obviously has a Czar complex.

[Olog-hai]

Right; that’s why I mentioned that Putin is rebuilding the empire in his own image. Territory versus ideology, albeit there remain many similarities in ideology.