There is no real threat to Putin inside Russia. His competition, critics and naysayers have all been assassinated or arrested. His rule has reached dictatorial proportions and his ratings have been going down. Outside of Russia, Putin has a lot of threats. NATO is always Putin's biggest challenge and threat. NATO will destroy Russia in a moment's notice and there is nothing that Putin can do. He does have other threats.
Russia has no real allies and their alliances with China are due to common interests. Russia has allied with India, though India tends to maintain neutrality and treats U.S. and Russia alike. Any mistakes from Putin might turn India to NATO's fold and NATO and India combined is something no country on this planet can resist. China will likely pull out in such situations.
