There's a guy, Michael Kofman [0], who actually does have a clue on what is/was going on there - he wrote extensively on the topic and with more depth than most

There's a guy, Michael Kofman [0], who actually does have a clue on what is/was going on there - he wrote extensively on the topic and with more depth than most articles that got produced by the mass media. [0] ... serves as Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA and as a Fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC. https://www.cna.org/experts/Kofman_M https://www.cna.org/experts/Kofman_M