I FEAR, Russia is part of the NWO-Grand Game as anyone else is.
It reminds me of the "Führer", who had been a pawn in the game, like putin is. Both unwillingly, nevertheless both knowing, who those historical forces are, with which they were ready to go "a part of the way, because we both have the same interests, in this very moment" - Hitler and Putin alike will have heard this phrase...
Hitler helped Schneerson, the chief Rabbi of Chabad-Lubawitsch, to flee the European Continent, in 1940; whilst the other other were brought to the work-camps in the east, the Rebbe had free escort and a first class ticket to the US (on the ship he got into trouble with Joseph P.Kennedy*, father to JFK and US-embassador to Great Britain; the Rebbe anathematized Kennedy family then)
Putin, on his side, helped the Chabad-Lubatwitsch cult to conquer
It seems to me, that chabad persuades Putin that he - being their "partner"- cannot fail; overlooking the last years this must have seemed credible to him: Russia got the Crimea back, it has won the war in Syria (and Libya), Turkey, seeking for special relations towards moscow, is no longer a firm NATO-partner.

Chadad-Lubawitschers CERTAINLY will have told Putin, that this triumph, this renaissance of Russia, was THANKS TO THEIR POWER Lobby. And there are facts, which PROOF that they have a point there. TRUMP, part of the cult, is ONE of these PROOFS: the POTUS rubber-stamped every step to Putins triumph. He turned a blind eye towards Russia; his opponent on the global chess game was China.
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Nevertheless, I am sure, that, if history repeats, and it looks like that it does - then the Juice play a double game. Talmudists and Kabbalists say, that, shortly before the arrival of the Jewish Messiah, Russia will take back Crimea and there wil be peace talks in Turkey. Unfortunately the arrival of the Messiah can only happen in the way of bloodshed: 3rd WW