I think the goal of Russia (or more specifically Putin's inner circle) is basically great power roleplay, and as a part of that roleplay, they have to have some

I think the goal of Russia (or more specifically Putin's inner circle) is basically great power roleplay, and as a part of that roleplay, they have to have some kind of grandiose geopolitical objective. When it comes to actual real power, economic, soft, military, or whatever, Russia has a smaller GDP than Italy. If you imagine Italy trying to push the US 'out of the picture' so they could have 'free reign' in Europe, you can see how ridiculous Russia's 'geopolitics' is. What's really happening is that Putin's domestic power and legitimacy stems from his ability to be a plausible cosplay Bismark while keeping the kleptocrats that are robbing the Russian people happy. If push comes to anything close to a shove, there's simply no way Russia can contend with any of its neighbors, all of whom are just way more powerful (India, China, Japan, South Korea) or in actual world-leading blocs (EU members, NATO members, etc). That won't change until the Russian economy and society itself changes, and that's impossible without substantial reassessment and reorganization that would undoubtedly include the end of Putin's regime.