It is an open secret that Putin laments the breakup of the Soviet Union and the subsequent emasculation of Russia. He seeks to reestablish the historical Russian sphere of influence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Russian leader says it is ‘unpleasant to talk about’ his cab work in that period as he laments Soviet Union’s demise
www.theguardian.com
The interventions in Kazakhstan, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia/Azerbaijan, and Slavic Ukraine, Belarus demonstrate how he maintains quasi-control of countries which were previously dominated by Russia in the Soviet Union.
Nonetheless, in the long term, Russia's interests are best served by having a friendly relationship with the West as the main threat to its territorial integrity and hegemony in Asia is China. China wants to upend the Eurocentric (America and Russia included) status quo and reorient the geopolitical map towards itself. Xi's nationalistic rhetoric revolves around China regaining its status as the leading 'civilisation' in the World and righting the Historical wrongs inflicted on it by European powers in the 19th and 20th century. They might be playing nice with Russia now but if the opportunity were to ever present itself, I would not put it past China to make Russia subordinate to it and even try to reclaim territories lost during the Amur annexation.
Knowing how the Indho Yar move, our pawn interests are better served by a Euro dominated world.
