What next for President Putin?
For the past two years the story of Vladimir Putin's Russia has been a tale of two halves.
His supporters (plus, with grudging admiration, some of his detractors) have hailed him as a skilful strategist. They argue that his interventions in Ukraine and Syria caught Western powers unawares and made the world see that he was an international player to be reckoned with.
And it is true that, unlike most Western leaders who have to keep an eye on election cycles, he can afford to exercise strategic patience. Already more than 15 years at the helm and constitutionally able to stay on as president until 2024, with no viable opponent in sight, he can afford to wait and overcome setbacks if he doesn't get his way immediately.
It is also no secret that he does have long-term strategic goals. He talks about them all the time.
He is determined to wield his country's military clout, so that the world in general and the United States in particular realised that Russia is a great power, an equal partner whose interests must be accommodated.
He wants the West to acknowledge Russia's right to treat its post-Soviet neighbours as part of its sphere of influence, free from links to Nato or any other Western-dominated alliance.
He is on the lookout for levers to weaken Europe's ties with the US, in the hope of one day turning Russia into Europe's main strategic partner.
He keeps tightening his grip at home to avoid threats to his own power (like those street protests in 2011) and to the country's stability.
And he seeks to re-orientate the Russian economy to protect it from foreigners, and reduce its reliance on imports and plummeting energy prices.
