Obabble would prefer Vlad screw himself...he is tired of being screwed BY Vlad
As Putin becomes more of a minor player on the global stage. Thumbing his nose at the US does little to improve his stature
Minor player? OMG you are ignoring facts. Russia is the largest exporter of natural gas and oil to the EU. Russia can literally put the EU on it's feet if it cut them off (mutual destruction, since they need the NG and oil revenues flowing).
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/international/bilateral_cooperation/russia/doc/reports/progress10_en.pdf
Russia has a significant role in the European energy sector as the largest exporter of oil and natural gas to the European Union. In 2007, the European Union imported from Russia 185 million tonnes of crude oil, which accounted for 32.6% of total oil import, and 100.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent of natural gas, which accounted 38.7% of total gas import.
They are the largest country land mass size. They are member of BRIC. They are an emerging free market country that is built on manufacturing (accounts for 40% of their work force). They also have the second strongest military in the world (yep greater than China). They have the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. They are part of most important economic pacts and very influencial in the Middle East, North Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia.
They aren't sinking at all!