joining our conversation is michael mcfaul, former ambassador to russia. first to you, ambassador mcfaul, let's talk about putin. what will it take to get him to back down? >> i'm not sure, to be honest. what you see today in jim maceda's report is him escalating on the ground in response to the ukrainian military winning just a few weeks ago. he decided he did not want his separatists, his mercenaries in eastern ukraine to lose so he opened up this third front. until there's a stalemate in eastern ukraine, which i don't see any time soon, i think it's very unlikely we're going to have real negotiations. >> and michael mcfaul, we also heard putin saying today that if eastern ukraine should be able to vote on its own statehood, which sounds like the next step similar to what already happened with crimea. >> he said that and his press secretary rolled it back. they have communication problems like sometimes our leaders do, too, in terms of what the phrase actually meant. but it was notable for the first time he did use the phrase, which he hasn't used for ab

michael mcfaul, former u.s. attend to russia joins us. ambassador, thanks for joining us. >> sure. thanks for having me. >> we were talking just yepd when putin was making a speech in cry kneekreye miya, he wants this as soon as possible. should we believe him or call his bluff? the fact there is a military column enters ukraine does that continue to whittle away any credibility he could have going forward? >> well, president putin has always said he wants to end this, and seeks negotiations, and what he said in crimea yesterday was really no different than most of his speeches from the beginning of the conflict. he just never backs those words up with actions. and he's continued to escalate this crisis. there's been no evidence whatsoever on the ground that he is seeking to de-escalate or to put pressure on those rebels that he supports. again, i'm listening to your show and agree we all need to be very cautious with the initial report, but when that convoy was on the move yesterday, there were also apts reported on the move and it was the case that the ukrainians did take out rus

lenin's tomb," and his latest article he tracks the rise of vladimir putin through the story of michael mcfaul. he writes, "the russian president sees himself as the leader of a new activist."vativeist tell me. who is vladimir putin? how has he changed from the first time he was president until today? >> when he arrives as president in 2000, literally new year's eve, the state is incomplete this array. state institutions are reeling. really, russia has not recovered from the economic collapse, privatization which was chaotic and worse. the place was a mess. a terrible mess. pledginge in at a time nothing about ideology or democracy in any serious way, but nor was he terribly anti-western. he was pledging order and in and the chaos and a rebuilding of the economy. lucky him after making a number of misses, the price of oil and gas shoots up. 2005, time you get to 2006, his popularity is through the roof because for the first ,ime, pensions are being paid salaries are being paid. a middle class developing. people are traveling abroad. they are getting mortgages for their apartment. this is unpre

former ambassador to russia michael mcfaul is an nbc contributor now at stanford and joins me.. let's talk about putin and whom he is hurting because he's banning food from the u.s., about $1.3 billion a year. i've talked to a chicken producer here and oer

former ambassador to russia michael mcfaul is an nbc contributor now at stanford and joins me. thank you very much. let's talk about putin and whom he is hurting because he's banning food from the u.s., about $1.3 billion a year. i've talked to a chicken producer here and others in the agriculture sector. they say that 40% of his food and drugs come from europe and he is really hurting the russian people. >> yeah, that's right. i mean, it's tragic in my view. not least because we worked several years when i was in the government to try to increase trade and investment including food imports to russia. and at the end of the day, who is going to be hurt is the russian consumers both because these goods will no longer be on the russian market and because their absence will increase inflation. that's just simple market logic. the consumers in russia are the ones that are going to be hurt, not the americans. >> and there are a number of ceos who have been here in washington for this africa summit. they're bidding on african contracts trying to counteract china which has been investi

michael mcfaul, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> and after the break, what was supposed to be a moment of healing at a forum in ferguson turns into a contentious standoff, exposing lingering problems between the community and police that go beyond ferguson. >>> plus, a conversation about racial disparity and what it's like to live in two very different americas. losing your chex mix too easily? deploy the boring potato chip decoy bag. with a variety of tastes and textures, only chex mix has twenty bags of interesting. pick your mix. ven fly. [ male announcer ] it's one of the most amazing things we build it and it doesn't even fly. ] we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. building something better for all of us. ♪ ♪ [music] jackie's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've