we turn now to richard burt. he was the chief u.s. arms control negotiator during the strategic arms reduction talks with the soviet union during the reagan administration.o he arved as assistant secretary of state for european affairs. in's now at mclarty associates, a business consufirm. richard burt, thank you very much. >> good evening. >> schifrin: is this all about domestic politics, president putin not worried about threats to russia but his own power? >> part of it is certainly about bricks. i mean, there is an election in march. nobody's going to beat vladimir atin, but putin wants to get good chunk, 70% or more, of the vote, and he can't talk about an economy that's rapidly growing. he doesn't have the kind of consumer economy t dominated the early part of the century. people's living standards are actually falling. so he's playing the great power card. he's saying i brought russia back, we're a global superpower, and our technology is first class, it can competewi effectivel the united states, and, so, you can rest >> schif