[meric]

It's not that Putin is a bad chess player, just that western interests are better. Maiden shootings were started by someone manipulating protesters, the police were dying and felt forced to react. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/ukraine-bugged-...

I suspect similar actions may be true in the other cases. I mean do you think Putin, a very shrewd politician who have risen into the halls of power through cunning, is stupid?