I disagree. I think Putin actually aspires to be more like China. I think the difference between Russia and China today stems from the Soviet Union’s priorities

I disagree. I think Putin actually aspires to be more like China. I think the difference between Russia and China today stems from the Soviet Union’s priorities of national independence and socialist ideals. China has played a long-term global strategy that Putin, or virtually any other country’s leaders for that matter, is bound to be jealous of. Ideology can never account for these discrepancies in potential.