Following Donald Trump’s election eight years ago, the reaction in Moscow was jubilant. They even popped open champagne bottles in the State Duma.
But in contrast to 2016, this year’s reaction in Moscow has been a combination of threats, warnings, and even trolling.
After congratulating Trump, Vladimir Putin suggested that in order to improve relations, the United States needed to end sanctions and cut off all support for Ukraine.
And Putin’s longtime advisor and crony Nicolai Patrushev raised the ante, claiming that Trump has “obligations” to “certain forces” that assisted his election – obligations that the president-elect was “obliged to fulfill.”
So what is going on here? What is the Putin regime trying to communicate and accomplish? And what does that portend going forward?
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Russian opposition figure Vladimir Milov to break it all down.
SHOW NOTES
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You can access Vladimir Milov’s YouTube channel (in Russian) here. Vladimir Milov’s recently published work in English can be accessed here, here, and here.
The Power Vertical Newsletter on Substack can be accessed here. Recently published work by Brian Whitmore can be accessed here, here, and here.