Tyrannical, autocratic regimes are always paranoid about external forces jeopardizing their grip on power...
But more often than not, they collapse from within.
And increasingly, it looks like that's going to be the case for Russia.
For decades now, Vladimir Putin has blamed the United States for everything.
It's in his DNA as a former KGB agent. It's why he constantly threatens us with nuclear annihilation, meddles in our elections, floods our country with propaganda, and leverages dark-money donations to influence politicians and media personalities.
The "encroachment" of NATO was supposedly his rationale for invading Ukraine... or at least it was until he claimed it was to "de-Nazify" the former-Soviet satellite state.
In truth, though, Putin invaded Ukraine because he's determined to expand Russia's borders. He fancies himself a conqueror in the mold of Peter the Great.
Of course, he's not.