With Russian President Vladimir Putin being re-elected, it may be time for the United States to think differently about its relationship with Russia moving forward, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said Monday.
"I think we're also confused about the time we're in," McFaul commented during an MSNBC "Morning Joe" panel discussion. "We compare it to the Cold War and then we say, 'oh, it's really not the Cold War.' I think it's time to start thinking about maybe it's worse than the Cold War."
The former Soviet Union had its leaders too, he added, and the United States never affirmed the kind of legitimacy to those leaders that Putin has received.
"The head of the Russian propaganda network just called him a leader instead of a president," McFaul said. "So we should get our heads around that too."
Putin won Sunday's election with about 77 percent of the vote. Columnist Pavel Grudinin, his closest rival, had less than 12 percent, and TV star Ksenia Sobchak, the only candidate openly critical of Putin, got less than 2 percent.
Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Putin's most serious foe, was banned from the race.
McFaul on Monday said he fears Putin now feels he has an "electoral mandate of central Asian proportions" and that it might not even be fair to call the event an election.
"This is his largest vote ever," McFaul said. "It means the Russian people support what he's doing if you look at opinion polls, especially on foreign policy. So, I think it's highly unlikely he'll pivot his course after this election."
However, Dan Hoffman, former CIA station chief in Moscow, had a darker view of the election, particularly given the attempted murder in London of a former Russian spy just days before.
"I think the timing of the attempted murder was really important just before the election," Hoffman said. "There was a message there for Putin's own people, 'don't cross me. There's no safe space anywhere in the world. If you do, then I'll eliminate you.'"
Dr. Evelyn Farkas, former deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia, also a part of the panel, said she agrees with both McFaul's fears and Hoffman's comments about the attempted murder.
"Putin did that on purpose," she said. "What he did in London was deliberately intended to bring about a reaction in the west. But [Prime Minister] Theresa May said she was very measured because they know, the Brits know, so she said there's more coming. I think the problem is Putin will not stop with his aggressive actions against the west. He's certainly not going to stop now."
However, Farkas thinks that despite Putin's high percentage in the ballot, he is actually weaker domestically.
"Yes, he got 70-plus-percent of the vote, but the turnout was lower," she said. "To get the turnout they got, they had to coerce people. Employers were telling people you go and vote and take a selfie to prove it to me. They were having sales of eggs and fish. That's the sugar they used to get people to vote."
That means Putin's only recourse will be to "ratchet up" his actions internationally, and "that's not good for us," Farkas said. "We have to be firm. The only way to get Putin to stop is to set limits."