Putin undoubtedly viewed his intervention in the 2016 election as a low cost, low risk, high reward gamble. After all, he could outsource the hacking to cybermercenaries who didn’t cost very much, and he could easily disavow them if they were caught. Victory was highly unlikely, but the prize was alluring: a bumbling, clueless, wannabe strong man who admired him as his principal adversary.
Against the odds, Trump prevailed, and Putin has in some respects reaped the benefits. America is discrediting liberal democracy and trashing its alliances on a daily basis; he could not have hoped for more. He also has gained plenty of admirers among the crowd that unquestioningly follows Trump and Fox News. On the other hand, the political class has united against him, sanctions have not been lifted, and America is becoming, if anything, more aggressive in its support of Ukraine. American troops in Syria are killing his private sector soldiers. Finally, while Trump is easily manipulated, he loves being unpredictable, so one can’t be sure that he will stay on board for his entire term.
The bottom line is that, from his perspective, Trump is a mixed blessing. Be careful what you ask for, because you might get it.