title: The Beneficial Shock
abstract: Russia, under Vladimir Putin, is finally resuming the USSR's leitmotif of showing a global presence in order to strategically counter the US in an appropriate manner. The old narrative that Russia does not have an ice-free port for access to the world is no longer an issue thanks to Putin, his actions in Crimea and his presence in the Middle East. This means that Russia can finally adequately counter American maritime dominance again. Similar to what the German Empire tried to do when it began t
journal: Eurasian Crossroads