"How did Russia manage to emerge resurgent on the world stage and play a weak hand so effectively? Is it because Putin is a brilliant strategist? Or has Russia stepped into a vacuum created by the West's distraction with its own domestic problems and US ambivalence about whether it still wants to act as a superpower? Putin's World examines the country's turbulent past, how it has influenced Putin, the Russians' understanding of their position on the global stage and their future ambitions -- and their conviction that the West has tried to deny them a seat at the table of great powers since the USSR collapsed. This book looks at Russia's key relationships -- its downward spiral with the United States, Europe, and NATO; its ties to China, Japan, the Middle East; and with its neighbors, particularly the fraught relationship with Ukraine. PUTIN'S WORLD will help Americans understand how and why the post-Cold War era has given way to a new, more dangerous world, one in which Russia poses a challenge to the United States in every corner of the globe -- and one in which Russia has become a toxic and divisive subject in US politics."-- Provided by publisher.

The weight of the past -- The Russian idea -- Ambivalent Europeans -- Russia and Germany : the fateful relationship -- The "main opponent" : Russia and NATO -- Russia and its "near abroad" : how civilized a divorce? -- "The past is always changing" : Russia and Ukraine -- Russia and China : duo of the willing? -- Wary neighbors : Russia and Japan in the shadow of World War Two -- The new power broker : Russia and the Middle East -- Three failed resets : Russia and America before the Trump era -- The rivals : Russia and America in the age of Trump -- What kind of engagement with Russia?