Vladimir Putin has seized Crimea and destabilized Ukraine. By blithely shrugging off the West's condemnations, Putin puts important work on the global economy, nuclear proliferation and climate change on indefinite hold. And he is throwing a darker shadow over the 21st century as Putin's talk of lost empires, historic grievances and the moral decadence of the West seems drawn from another era, a throwback to the nationalistic, empire-building Russian czars for whom Putin so often professes his admiration.
This story is part of the TIME Spotlight Stories Collection from Time Inc.
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This Spotlight Story from TIME explores Vladimir Putin and what drives him.