Bob Schwartz

Putin thinks or would like to that Russia is still one of the top superpowers in the world. It isn’t, but he has a plan to get there.

All he has to do is knock one of the two superpowers from the top spots. Russia is never going to dethrone China. But he believes America is vulnerable. Putin is an expert and experienced intelligence officer–and dictator–so he knows vulnerabilities and can read people. He read Trump from first encounter. A man who thinks he’s smart but isn’t. A man who could be compromised and manipulated. Most of all, a man who, in the right position, could create chaos.

There are some particular American policies that Putin would like to see Trump adopt; weak support for Ukraine, for example. Mostly though, Putin wants to incite dissension and chaos in America because Putin, as a student of history and geopolitics, knows that internal dissension and chaos lead directly to national weakness.

Putin may not yet be able to declare mission accomplished. But every day he is getting closer to success.

© 2026 Bob Schwartz