For decades after World War II, the specter of communism and the threat of the Soviet Union loomed large in American politics.

Today the threat of China is a rising concern, and Russia is almost forgotten.

But students of Russia are growing increasingly concerned over the years with the power and influence of Putin and his apparent drive to return Russia to superpower status.

It may be that historians will look back on modern Russian history as the eras of Lenin, Stalin, Krushchev, Brezhnev and Putin, with only slight deviations in the Russian push for world power.

Concerned Americans would do well to read Kissinger's book, On China, and also Angus Roxburgh's 2012 book, The Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the Struggle for Russia.

At the very least, keep an eye on the news from Russia.