Well, I think it makes sense to ask why Putin feels the need to intervene in the nations that serve as a buffer for Russia. Where did his foreign policy go wrong? Why was he unable to maintain friendly relations with these countries and peoples? He needs them, right? Where did he screw up?
In the same regard, it makes sense to ask why his domestic economic policies have been such a failure. Why is Russia actually losing population each year? Why is the Russian economy so anemic? Why can't there be at least some growth? Why is everything going downhill under Putin?
At some point, we have to recognize the obvious - Putin's no genius; he's an incompetent jerk. But, he's surrounded by his gangster friends and so it won't be easy to get rid of him. He'll just keep screwing things up until his gangster friends get rid of him.
Putin is the big Oligarch, the new Tsar