Megyn Kelly launched her new magazine at NBC Sunday, and the stakes couldn't have been much higher for either. Kelly, now among the highest paid personalities on network news (nearly $20 million per year), left Fox News for the network earlier this year, and will most likely secure another role on the morning schedule later this year, in addition to this one.

But first, she had to get through "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly," a magazine show which was also inaugurated with a piece by Cynthia McFadden investigation about an addictive drug produced by Insys Therapeutics, and another piece by Harry Smith about elephant poaching in Kenya.

Her lead-off piece was about the second most famous leader on the planet, Vladmir Putin. For her, the results were mixed. For Putin, the result was a slam dunk.

In a wide-ranging interview that led Kelly's inaugural broadcast, Putin spoke at length and unchallenged — and even appeared to have mastered a skill that American pundits spend years developing, the "pull-out quote," AKA the memorable soundbite: 

"You people are so creative over there," he quipped. "Good job. Your lives must be boring."

Then, this one: "Have you all lost your senses over there?"

Good job, indeed. Maybe Putin missed his calling — as a U.S. cable news primetime host.

The best part of Kelly's inaugural "Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly" began in the opening moments, with Kelly moderating a panel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Cue to a tight shot of Kelly, who explained that the "normally wonkish" discussion became "heated" when she asked Putin about cyber interference in the U.S. election: "I saw what was happening," he said, via the translator. "It was a big surprise for me too. What they are saying is just nuts. I never know where people spreading disinformation is coming from."