If I'm Putin, I want to destabilize a Clinton regime. Russia pretends to be a global player but they just don't have the materiel or money to really make a run at it. They've always looked way more powerful than they actually are and managed to be an empire for as long as they did primarily by letting the US convince the world they were one.

With America retreating from geopolitics as fast as it can for the past four years the Russians have been forced to have an opinion about Turkey, Syria, Azerbaijan, China, India, you name it. Instead of simply being able to go "we're not American" they've had to practice original statecraft.

There's a very real place for Brand X in most ecosystems and Russia is a great Brand X against the US and China. They ain't about to put on a cape, though.

If I'm Putin, the past four years have convinced me more than ever that what I really want is a de-legitimized conventional US government. Fumbling populists require way too much heavy lifting by Russia. I kinda feel like if the Russians really wanted this to go Trump's way they'd be pushing a lot harder.