It's easy to look at 2016 as the year Vladimir Putin won his undeclared war on the West.
Like an international guerrilla fighter, the Kremlin leader has proven adept at the politics of destruction and exploiting Western vulnerabilities.
But destroying is not the same as winning. In fact it often contains within it the seeds of future defeats.
On this week's year-ender Power Vertical Podcast, we look at Putin's apparent victories over the past year, and the pitfalls ahead.
Joining me is co-host Mark Galeotti, a senior policy fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, and author of the blog In Moscow's Shadows.
Also on the podcast, Mark and I discuss Putin's end-of-year press conference and what kind of message he was trying to send.
Enjoy...
Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes.
