My analysis: Russia is a large, somewhat unstable nation with an unruly population. Communism was a front for authoritarianism which clearly didn't work out for them. Putin did a pretty good job of picking up the pieces and things have been getting better since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is why he is genuinely liked among a lot of Russians. They remember the Cold War and the poverty that Communism brought. He's definitely heavy-handed but Russia isn't a country that would respond to a weak ruler; it's going to have to get there gradually.

Its people nor its rulers want war with the United States; they want to do what's best for their own stability and that includes fighting terrorism in their back yard. They see the United States as not that much different from the Cold War, and we really aren't; we still control NATO which inches towards Russia, we talk about them as if they were enemies in our national politics, and we fight them in the Middle East to install our own leaders. Putin wants a warmer relationship with the United States which is why he's expressed a degree of support for Trump. Russia absolutely does not have the ability to overpower the United States. Its GDP is inches larger than Mexico's and would likely fracture due to political instability if what little GDP it has it damaged by war.