Russia in Global Affairs

Putin a politician and leader, not an academician. His conservatism should be judged accordingly. It is a work in progress and is part but by no means the whole of the mental apparatus he brings to his role.

Millions of American children have been fascinated by the folktale The Little Engine That Could. It is about a small locomotive that succeeds in pulling a heavy train up a steep hill. The moral is about optimism and true grit. The engine sings out the mantra “I think I can, I think I can” as it chugs uphill. This Wednesday’s Russia-U.S. summit in a Swiss villa will have some of the qualities of that little engine.