As soon as Russia became a major power there was this omnipresent

>>3380723
Balkanizing. Russia is just too damn big. Its very existence and geopolitical need to expand to secure its territory and economic interests will forever make it a threat or appear as a threat to its neighbors

>>3380723
>What would it take for Russia to finally establish friendly, fruitful relations with Europe and the West?
balkanization of the country into fiefdoms owned by international corporation with entire population sold as slaves to them

>>3380723
They're a geopolitical threat before they are an idealogical one.

>>3380742
>>3380761
What would a balkanized Russia look like?

File: spectical putin.jpg (23KB, 360x446px) Image search: [Google]

23KB, 360x446px

>>3380742
>need to expand
It's already the largest country in the world by far, why the fuck would they need to expand even more?!

File: 1280px-Blank_map_of_Europe_(with_disputed_regions).svg.png (184KB, 1280x979px) Image search: [Google]

184KB, 1280x979px

>>3380795

>>3380795
A big fucking mess in the caucasus regions

>>3380816
>Karelia to Finland
Maybe once upon a time, but I doubt there's enough Karelian finns around that care about any shared Finnish lineage for it to work out, I'd imagine they'd rather be their own shitty little russian speaking republic

>>3380803
Buffer zones. Russia is super autistic about putting as many obstacles between them and any Europower with the potential to attack them. The whole Warsaw pact was an attempt by them to ensure the next war would be fought in Poland and Hungary instead of on Soviet soil.

>>3380872
>The whole Warsaw pact was an attempt by them to ensure the next war would be fought in Poland and Hungary instead of on Soviet soil.

Considering both the US and USSR war plan followed the pattern "Glass Europe, move in with radiation resistant equipment to establish dominance over leftover population, allow things to de-escalate," it's not hard to see why they wanted the first attack to be somewhere in Germany and not on their soil.

>>3380723
If they stopped invading their neighbours every few years and stopped assassinating anyone who is considered a threat to the regime that would be a good start

>>3380795
Independent siberia and urals probably. People there are already pissed that they have all the natural resources but all the wealth ends up in moscow.

Stop talking shit like they wanna fight all the time and violate other people's airspace and sovereign waters nilly willy to act tough.

>>3380872
>>3380895
>>3380723
It has always been like that, even before nuclear weapons.

Russia's core is in European Russia, and the march to it across the Northern European Plain is open for any Western power.

This is why traditionally Russia has sought to control Eastern Europe or push its borders Westwards to the point the Northern European Plain is at its narrowest, on the line where the Carpathian Mountains and the Baltic Sea form a natural chokepoint, which roughly corresponds with Poland.

See this video:
https://youtu.be/W6LIhNgsQoc

Russia has had a long history of military strongmen and autocrats ruling, and it's deeply constrained by its geography, so the desire to push West makes sense from a military and geopolitical perspective.