It is evident that the Kremlin is in a celebratory mood after Donald Trump’s victory on Tuesday. 

According to Virginia Tech professor Besnik Pula, it is difficult to know everything that the Russian government will seek from Mr. Trump, but it definitely sees in him someone it can do business with. 

Quoting
“How Mr. Trump and his administration respond to the Russian regime's overture is hard to know, as I imagine there will be some internal tussle between Mr. Trump’s impulse to engage with Russia and some of the seasoned Republicans in his future administration, who may still see Russia and Putin’s motives with more suspicion.”

“Most of Trump's voters supported him because of his position on domestic affairs, rather than his views on foreign policy or Mr. Putin. If pro-Russian sympathies and allegations of Russian aid did not harm him during the campaign, I don’t see something like that being especially damaging now.”

Background 
Pula is a professor of political science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. His research expertise includes comparative political economy of developing countries, post-communist transformations, and the social and institutional impacts of globalization. His current interests include issues of European integration and what those processes have meant for both regional economies in Europe as well as the global political economy more generally. 
 

To secure a live or recorded video interview with Besnik Pula from the Virginia Tech campus, contact Bill Foy by email at fwill55@vt.edu; or by phone at 540-998-0288 or 540-231-8719. 

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