Rostislav Ishchenko — What does Putin want?

Foreword by the Saker:

The analysis below is, by far, the best I have seen since the beginning of the conflict in the Ukraine. I have regularly posted analyses by Ishchenko on this blog before, because I considered him as one of the best analysts in Russia. This time, however, Ishchenko has truly produced a masterpiece: a comprehensive analysis of the geostrategic position of Russia and a clear and, I believe, absolutely accurate analysis of the entire “Putin strategy” for the Ukraine. I have always said that this conflict is not about the Ukraine but about the future of the planet and that there is no “Novorussian” or even “Ukrainian” solution, but that the only possible outcome is a strategic victory of either Russia or the USA which will affect the entire planet. Ishchenko does a superb overview of the risks and options for both sides and offers the first comprehensive “key” to the apparentlyincomprehensible behavior of Russia in this conflict. Finally, Ishchenko also fully understands the complex and subtle dynamics inside Russian society. When he writes “Russian power is authoritative, rather than authoritarian” he is spot on, and explains more in seven words than what you would get by reading the billions of useless words written by so-called “experts” trying to describe the Russian reality.

We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Denis, Gideon and Robin for translating this seminal text, which was very difficult to translate. The only reason why we can read it in such a good English is because the innumerable hours spent by these volunteers to produce the high quality translation this analysis deserves.

I strongly recommend that you all read this text very carefully. Twice. It is well worth it.
The Saker

The Vineyard of the Saker
What does Putin want? A major analysis by Rostislav Ishchenko (must read!)
Translated from the Russian by Denis, Gideon, and Robin
Source: http://actualcomment.ru/chego-khochet-putin.html

Note: There are several factions in Russia. The largest is the moderate faction led by Putin. The next largest is the conservatives-nationalist faction, called "patriots" in this analysis. Elsewhere they are called "the hot-heads." The next largest faction, but significantly smaller, is the communists, and the last, holding no national offices, is the liberal faction, which is very small and hardly represented outside of the largest cities. This is a very different picture that is painted in the Western media, which implies that Russia is largely made up of liberals being suppressed.