The World According to Vladimir Putin

Moscow is taking an ever more controversial stand with the U.S. Why Russia’s leader dreams of imperial rebirth.

Since May, when Putin began his third term as President, his declared objective has been to launch a 21st century Russian resurgence. But his rhetorical embrace of Russia’s imperial past at home has brought him increasingly into conflict abroad–particularly with the West. Putin tried fitfully during the first decade of his rule to find common ground with the U.S. and its allies. Now he’s blithely burning those bridges. The real-world effects of Putin’s newly confrontational approach have been most evident in recent weeks with the crisis in Syria. Russian officials have suggested that a U.S. military strike against the Assad regime could lead to a war that would engulf the Middle East and even spread to Russia’s southern frontier in the Caucasus. Putin has demanded proof that Assad had used chemical weapons against rebels, telling the Associated Press it was “ludicrous” that the Syrian military would gas its enemies when it already had them on the ropes.

More From TIME Magazine: