After two years of the pandemic, just when people were hoping for a semblance of normalcy, the world has been rocked by a massive war that could have catastrophic effects way beyond the conflict zone and probably change the post-Cold War world order. One question that just doesn’t go away is: could this war have been avoided? What exactly is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s game plan – why did he not stick to the path of diplomacy, instead of launching a full scale war? How will this war affect his position within Russia? And what is the thinking and mood in Russia at the moment? Does the sanctions regime portend Russia’s decisive pivot to the East, away from Europe, with which it has a long, shared history? We look for answers to these questions in this episode of In-Focus podcast. Guest: Danil Bochkov, strategic expert with the Russia International Affairs Council (RIAC), a Moscow-based think tank Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu Edited by Ranjani Srinivasan