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Three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has reestablished itself as a force to be reckoned with on the global stage, intervening forcefully not only in former Soviet republics on its periphery, but also in global hotspots like Syria and Libya. Despite Russia\\u2019s resurgence, some Western leaders have a noticeable tendency to dismiss it as an overrated, overhyped power. John McCain, the late U.S. senator, famously quipped that Russia is a \\u201cgas station masquerading as a country.\\u201d\\xa0U.S. President Joe Biden may have been channeling McCain when he said in July that Russian President Vladimir Putin is \\u201csitting on top of an economy that has nuclear weapons and oil wells and nothing else.\\u201d

In a recently published book entitled \\u201cRussia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order,\\u201d Kathryn Stoner, a specialist on Russia at Stanford University, challenges the conventional view of Moscow as a weak and declining power, arguing that assessing Russian capabilities requires looking beyond traditional metrics of power. She joins WPR\\u2019s Elliot on the Trend Lines podcast this week.

If you would like to request a full transcript of the episode, please send an email to podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com.

Relevant Articles on WPR:\\xa0

• Putin\\u2019s Big Plans for Russia\\u2019s Far East Aren\\u2019t Panning Out
• Afghanistan Will Put Russia\\u2019s Regional Ambitions to the Test
• Like It or Not, Biden Will Have to Live With Russia\\u2019s Energy Exports
• For the U.S. and Russia, \\u2018Stable and Predictable\\u2019 Would Be a Good Start

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Trend Lines is produced and edited by Peter D\\xf6rrie, a freelance journalist and analyst focusing on security and resource politics in Africa. You can follow him on Twitter at @peterdoerrie.

To send feedback or questions, email us at podcast@worldpoliticsreview.com.