See chapter 6 of this book that was published in 2009 (The Next 100 Years by George Friedman): http://www.mysearch.org.uk/website1/pdf/715.2.pdf http://www.mys

See chapter 6 of this book that was published in 2009 (The Next 100 Years by George Friedman): http://www.mysearch.org.uk/website1/pdf/715.2.pdf http://www.mysearch.org.uk/website1/pdf/715.2.pdf If nothing else, it outlines the strategic situation that is providing some of Putin's underlying motivation, namely, declining Russian population and encroaching NATO boundaries.