On March 1, Vladimir Putin gave his annual state-of-the-nation address, devoting a significant part of his speech to a presentation of Russia’s latest weapons, including nuclear missiles. “Nobody listened to us before. Well listen up now,” the president said. Meduza asked several Russian political and security experts to explain why Putin demonstrated all these weapons and what the speech means for his next presidential term.In this episode, Kevin summarizes and comments on the expert interpretations reported by Meduza. Some questions asked and answered here: Who was Putin’s intended audience? Why does Putin feel the need to threaten the United States? And what does Putin hope to gain by talking up Russia’s next-generation nukes?And don't forget to read the Meduza story here:https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/03/02/he-s-trying-to-say-take-us-seriously-we-re-not-joking-anymoreSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/kevinrothrock)