What is Vladimir Putin's End Game?

[Initech]

I don't think we have explored this angle yet. What does he want? What does he hope to accomplish by stirring up the crazies and white supremacists and neo Nazis of the world and turning the world's elections upside down? What does he get from having puppets like Erdogan and Trump in power? What does he get out of having a giant rocket called "Satan 2" that can bomb the shit out of anywhere in the world? What does he get by blowing the shit out of Isreal? Or by locking up all of those that speak out against him? I just really want to know. He's moved beyond just a mere James Bond villain into straight up Thanos territory. He wants the ability to be able to wipe out half of humanity with the snap of his fingers and he could very well achieve that goal. He's got that capability right now. What's there to stop him?

[BannonsLiver]

1. It's complicated

First and foremost, it’s all about Vlad taking care of Vlad. He’s enriched himself beyond measure. So that’s one thing. He also wants Russia to be a super power again and he sees the west as a hinderance to those goals. Finally, he wants to stay in power because he doesn’t trust anyone. Vlad not in power is a dead Vlad, in his eyes. This is a man who has made a lot of enemies and even his friends are the kind of people most of us wouldn’t want to have anything to do with for fear we’d end up in the trunk of a car.

Those are some things, I’m sure others can add to that or have better theories.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. I think he wants anything he can steal. He has never earned a penny, like rump.

And wants your house and so on.

I think he may not get that far but that is his goal. He really wants to destroy us, and rump is knowingly helping him do that. For real.

[J_William_Ryan]

3. He wants Russia to replace the United States

as the most influential actor concerning international affairs.

Hence Putin's support of the dullard Trump.

As Trump reneges on international accords, pulls out of treaties, and pursues his neo-isolationist agenda, Russia will fill the voids created by Trump’s incompetence, and become the most powerful actor on the international stage.

[NCTraveler]

4. Instability within our country.

Citizens and government alike.

[Garrett78]

7. Which is also what Republicans have been after for the last 50 years.

But you don't hear the "liberal media" making that point, sadly.

[XRubicon]

5. He wants to weaken everything western

So he can be a bigger player in a smaller pond.

He is going all in though which is short sighted, we change presidents and congress often enough- when we get sane people back in charge he will be sanctioned and his buddies too. I predict things will be very bad for him and Russia once we purge the traitors.

[Garrett78]

6. As I've written, he wants what Republicans have been after for the last 50 years.

Undermining the effectiveness of and trust in the US government. Putin's ends may have a somewhat different motivation, but he and Republicans are after the same thing. For Republicans, the ball got rolling with The Powell Memo.