Despite its well-known economic stresses, Russia has an uncanny ability to make things happen in the world. From the Middle East to Europe and from Beijing to Washington, D.C., Russia and more particularly President Vladimir Putin seem able to prompt reactions from world leaders, reactions both positive and negative. The country’s expanding alliance with China and its connection to Saudi Arabia have put Russia at the center of global energy plans; interacting with countries in the Middle East has placed Moscow in the middle of discussions in that region; and the enhancement of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has given Russia an international platform from which it can spread its military capabilities. To be successful in the long term, Russia still needs to move beyond being a petro-state with military capabilities (including nuclear weaponry). Now that Putin has created confusion in Europe, conflict in the U.S. and an alliance with China, Russia just might have some time to pull off that transition to become a country with an array of strengths.