His incursion into Crimea could be muscle-flexing, expansionism, desperation over losing Ukraine, or none of the above.

You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber.

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe today for access to:
Full access to the website and archive of over 26,000 articles

Exclusive monthly, members-only newsletter offering behind-the-scenes views from our contributing writers

A guest, two-month subscription to share with a friend

You can subscribe here to gain access to the entire website.