U.S. reactions to President Vladimir Putin's Op-Ed article in the New York Times last week, from outrage to ridicule, show just how badly much of the Western policy elite are misinterpreting Russia.
This is largely the product of dashed and unrealistic expectations that many in the West held after the collapse of communism. They thought Russia would reform itself and become a junior partner to the United States in global affairs. Instead, the country was re-established as an authoritarian and fiercely independent state. Putin has been demonized as the symbol of this disappointment, leaving Western elites dangerously ill-equipped to read him.
Putin decided to weigh in to the U.S. debate on Syria and its foreign policy in general not only to describe Russia's position but also to exploit an opening: President Barack Obama is evidently reluctant to use force in Syria, the U.S. Congress is split on the issue, and most Americans are opposed to further military action in the Middle East, period. Putin has decided that U.S. foreign policy is too important to be left to the American people and its leaders alone, so he has turned to them to present his case.