Russian President Vladimir Putin. File photoHOUSTON (USA), Mar 8 American expert on Russia, director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University Angela Stent believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to expand the country's influence to the borders of the USSR, but does not intend to restore the Soviet Union.
"He wants to restore Russia as a great power, to be treated like the Soviet Union — despite the fact that he does not seek to restore the USSR. This implies the restoration of the former sphere of influence, not only within the Soviet Union, but possibly beyond it", Stent said, speaking at a panel discussion as part of the CERAWeek international energy conference that started in Houston, USA.
The political scientist drew attention to the fact that Russia demanded that NATO return to the 1997 borders. Based on this, Stent suggested that the ambitions of the Russian leadership also include the restoration of Moscow's influence over Poland and the Baltic countries. «He turns 70 this year, and the Russian president sees this as a kind of legacy … Not only Europeans, but also the United States tried to reset relations with Russia and build a dialogue with him as with a pragmatic person,» the American analyst said. This is not the first time that the alleged intention of the Russian leadership to restore the Soviet Union has been voiced in the United States. So, in December 2021, US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said that Vladimir Putin «as a project of his legacy seeks to recreate the Soviet Union.» Meanwhile, the Russian leader has repeatedly expressed his position on this issue. As Putin noted, restoring the USSR is «meaningless, impossible and impractical» for a number of reasons.