Putin And Biden Signal Chilly Relations To Come

As the news broke in November that Joe Biden had won enough states to be declared president-elect, congratulations poured in from world leaders. Russian President Vladimir Putin was conspicuously absent from the list of well-wishers — and waited for more than a month, until the Electoral College vote last week, before congratulating him.

"It's classic Putin," says Konstantin Eggert, a Russian political commentator. "By not congratulating Biden for so long, he — in his eyes at least — proved that he's tough, he's strong, and, if need be, he's ready to take the fight all the way to Washington."

The two leaders have a history going back to and didn't think Putin had a soul. During the presidential election campaign, Biden called Russia "" After a massive hack of U.S. government agencies was blamed on Russia this month, the president-elect said there would be .