How Moscow's elite viewed Trump's unexpected rise to power
Looking back at Russian leadershipʼs reaction to Trumpʼs victory almost 8 years ago. Moscowʼs power-players saw opportunity in Americas shift toward domestic-focused policy
Back in late-2016 Donald Trumpʼs unexpected win opened new doors for Moscowʼs global plans. Russian decision-makers saw huge potential in Americas new direction: focusing on home issues instead of world problems
The mood in Moscows political circles was up-beat that fall - key people in the Kremlins inner-circle thought this was their big chance to re-shape world politics (especially regarding Ukraine). The Russian governments top-brass believed Western unity would get weaker‚ as the new US leader wanted to put America first
Several high-ranking members of Russias political class shared their views: Americas shift toward dealing with its own problems meant less attention to helping other nations like Ukraine. This created what they saw as a perfect time to increase Russias power on the world stage - something theyve wanted for years
The whole situation made Moscowʼs power-players think about new ways to push their interests forward; they believed Trumps win would help break up the usual world order that had been in place since the cold war
