"Who would be better for Russia, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton (as US president)?"

Putin made clear that the contentious relationship was not the result of individual politicians, but rather stemmed from a belief that America was "exceptional" among the concert of nations. The Russian leader noted that U.S. should "act respectfully toward all its partners, including Russia" and set aside its "imperial ambitions."

These "imperial ambitions" have been consistently on display as NATO prepares to deploy four battalions – close to 4,000 soldiers – to the Western border of Russia. The U.S. claims the military escalation is in response to Russian military exercises near the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – famously parroted in the Western media as "Russian aggression."

What the military and media fail to mention is that these "aggressive actions" the Russians are claimed to be undertaking are simply Russia conducting drills on its own soil.