Butfastforwardthrough a centuryofdisaster, with a worldwar, a civilwar, anotherworldwar, theColdWar, thecollapseoftheSovietUnionandtensofmillionsofdeathsalongtheway.
AndyouarrivetothesituationthatRussiafindsherselfinnow, afterbeinginvadedbyWesternEuropeanarmiestwiceduringthe 20thcenturyandwiththeperceivedthreatof a thirdinvasionbyNATOColdWareraallies, theSovietUnion's thathavebufferstateslike a securitysystemthatanyinvadingarmywouldhavetobreakthrough.
TheformerSovietRepublicsofLithuania, LatviaandEstoniaallalsojoinedtheothersidefollowingthecollapseofcommunism, placingthecityofSTPetersburg, thesecondlargestcityinallofRussia, within a mere 134 kilometersfromNATOterritory.
S nowhas a largemilitarypresenceinAfghanistan, downtothesouth, rightontheborderoftheoldUSSR.
Sは現在、アフガニスタンに大規模な軍事拠点を持っています。南下して、旧ソ連の境界線上にあります。
JapanandSouthKorea, meanwhile, arestrong U.
一方、日本と韓国は強いU.
S alliesintheeastthatcanbothlargelyblockedRussia's accesstothePacificifrequired, andChinastandstodayas a giganticcontinentalbehemoththatcouldalsopotentiallystandinthewayofRussia's continentalambitionsinAsia.