Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region on Sept. 13, 2023. Vladimir Smirnov | Afp | Getty Images Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has occupied an often contradictory and increasingly unsettling position on the global stage in recent years. On the one hand, Russia continues to hold onto "legacy" roles with a large degree of respectability and responsibility, such as being one of only five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and a member of the G20. On the other hand, however, it has...