Russia has pretty much always desired to control the Baltic states for the same reason: having them as proxy states create important buffer zones to a country t

Russia has pretty much always desired to control the Baltic states for the same reason: having them as proxy states create important buffer zones to a country that has otherwise weak borders protecting it's population centers. Historically most of Russia's geopolitical actions can be explained by Russian border protectionism. If Russia didn't have the Caucuses mountains to rely on I'd be willing to bet you'd see them laying pressure in that border region to capture them too.