Russian President Vladimir Putin has contended with five U.S. presidents, from Bill Clinton in 2000 to Donald Trump today. Each American leader had the stated aim of improving U.S.-Russian relations by the time he left office. None truly succeeded. Why? In this episode, Jeffrey Engel and David Kramer examine the past 25 years of structural causes and the internal processes within Russia that contributed to the conflict.

Historian Jeffrey Engel is the founding director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.

David J. Kramer is the executive director of the George W. Bush Institute and is a leading expert on Russia and Ukraine. He worked in the U.S. State Department during the eight years of Bush's presidency.