It's been over five years since the United States and Russia vowed to "reset" their relationship. In that time, the two countries have had to grapple with disagreements over Syria, Iran and Libya, as well as Russia's welcome to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden and the U.S. condemnation of a Russian-supported referendum in Crimea.
On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on some of the highest ranking officials in the Russian government. Let's just say it: The reset is dead.
One interesting way to think of it is to look back over the years in photographs. Body language is an important way to understand what someone is thinking: So important that apparently the U.S. government has spent $300,000 studying the postures, hand signals, and facial movements of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders. President Obama himself has observed that Putin had a “slouch" and looked like "that bored schoolboy in the back of the classroom” -- far from when President George W. Bush "looked the man in the eye" in 2001 and "was able to get a sense of his soul."
So how did that U.S. and Russian body language change over the years? See for yourself:
