The Cold War ended in the early 1990s with the collapse of the USSR, leading to the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the emergence of the U.S. as the sole superpower. Vladimir Putin previously described the collapse of the USSR as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century."

Russian President Vladimir Putin demoted Nikolai Patrushev, a Cold War warrior who crafted the Kremlin's national security strategy, to a job overseeing the shipbuilding industry while raising two younger lieutenants to senior Kremlin jobs.

Russian defence minister Sergei Lavrov has challenged governments in the West, saying the country is prepared to meet forces on the battlefield over the invasion of Ukraine

Long before the Kremlin announced the predetermined results of Russia’s presidential election in March, it was clear that Vladimir Putin’s next term in office would be a watershed moment in his rule.