Has Vladimir Putin become the master of the game? Why and how did the Russian President decide to attack Ukraine? Did he seek to prevent Ukraine from associating with Europe? Does he seek to reconstitute the USSR? Did NATO promise not to expand east after 1990? Is the Nord Stream 2 project the sinews of war? Is Ukraine's neutrality the only solution? Has Russia ever lost or won the war?... Based on the files of the intelligence services and official reports, Jacques Baud thus reviews the events of the recent history of Russia, which led to the war with Ukraine; it analyzes the various disputes between the West and Russia, and sheds light on the role that Putin plays today on the international scene.