We're rapidly approaching the 50th anniversary of the Soviet launch of Sputnik I. On October 4, 1957 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) shocked the world by successfully launching the first artificial satellite into orbit.

The Americans were caught embarrassingly off guard. They were in the process of preparing what they assumed would be the first manmade satellite, a tiny 3.5-pound payload. They had no idea the Soviets had the capability to surpass U.S. space technology. Sputnik I was a 183-pound payload.

Less than a month later the Soviets confirmed their superiority by launching Sputnik II with an even heavier payload, including a dog named Laika!

Much was at stake. These successful launches demonstrated that the U.S.S.R. had the technology to reach the United States with nuclear warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles. The threat of nuclear war took a giant leap forward, and the space race was on. Less than a year later the U.S. Congress approved the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

America won the race by essentially outspending the Soviets, leading to a remarkable transformation in world politics under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, who negotiated a draw down of nuclear weapons.

Handicapped by a wretched economy, the U.S.S.R. dissolved about eight years later. Russia stood alone again as it did before 1922. Russia was humiliated. America had won the Cold War, and suddenly the world seemed a safer place.

However, in recent months, Russia has embarked on a number of dramatic ventures that cause a foreboding sense of déjà vu. In August, Russia joined China for war games to demonstrate their renewed military might, "…their growing ties and a shared desire to counter U.S. global clout" (Ivan Sekretarev, "Russia, China Hold Joint War Games," AP, Aug. 17, 2007).

In a bold move Russia recently planted its flag at the North Pole, 14,000 feet below the Arctic Ocean! Far more than a publicity stunt, Russia is attempting to lay claim to the oil and gas reserves beneath the ocean floor. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea allows nations to claim underwater resources on geological extensions of its territory. Russia asserts that a ridge extends from its surface land directly to the North Pole. At stake is an estimated reserve worth over two trillion dollars.

Russia's transformation occurred under the firm hand of President Vladimir Putin. Appointed Prime Minister by an ailing Boris Yeltsin in 1999, Putin took over the presidency shortly thereafter.

He began to govern in a manner more like Western democracies, but he steadily increased the power of the federal government. He nationalized YUKOS Oil, bringing oil and gas production under state control. When a botched Chechen terrorist takeover of a school in Beslan resulted in the death of over 350 people (156 of them children), Putin declared it an attack on Russia. Shortly thereafter he suspended choosing state governors by election and announced that the federal government would appoint them.

Russians seem to prefer Putin's strong arm; he enjoys an 80 percent popularity rating as he nears the end of his second term. In addition to his natural abilities, he has been in the right place at the right time. Oil and gas revenues have enabled Russia to restore its military, as well as to exercise considerable clout in the global economy.

Russia was a major oil producer by the 20th century; in 1988, its output surpassed that of the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. But due to the lack of investment and maintenance of needed infrastructure, the industry flagged in the 1990s. Fortunately for Vladimir Putin, things began to turn around in the late 1990s, setting the stage for a phenomenal economic recovery under his watch financed by oil and gas production.

What's next? The EU, dependent upon Russian natural gas is deeply concerned about the direction Putin is leading the country. Signaling a significant chill in U.S.- Russian relations, this summer Putin ordered a fleet of long-range strategic bombers to take to the air in regular patrols again—the first such since shortly after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. The bombers carry nuclear weapons capable of reaching the U.S. (Andrew Kramer, "Putin Orders Long-Range Bomber Flights," International Herald Tribune, Aug. 17, 2007).