@TheOneDoc @Strandjunker Fail is a strong word. Maybe “transform”? Russia has been acting imperial for centuries. It was an empire in the 1709s. It subjugated its neighbours for various reasons, geography and food access for eg.
Take Finland… since 1809, it has been annexed by Russia, achieved independence, then lost a chunk of territory to the USSR (heavily Russian power structure in the USSR)
The USSR lost dominance over its neighbours in the 90’s. The Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation
They’ve started wars with Chechnya, Geogria, and Ukraine. While suppressing non-Russian minorities within Russia.
They’re influencing the Iran war.
Russia still sounds hella imperial to me