Yes, Russia's conquest of Crimea and continued attacks on Ukraine, intervention to prop up the brutal thug ruler Assad in Syria, friendly ties and arms sales to Iran, and military threats in general to new (and old) NATO members near Russia have prompted the West to reduce investments in Russia and improve military capabilities to cope with Russian military options in the exposed NATO east.
While Russia wastes money and opportunities with pointless confrontation with the West, Russia's frenemy in the east looms over the Russian empire's frontier:
Meanwhile China, the only real threat to Russia, quietly makes progress in the east. There China has claims on much of the Russian Far East and is openly replacing Russia as the primary economic, military and political force in Central Asia.
What are the Russians thinking? Is loudly irritating and alienating the West while a real threat quietly grows in Asia really their top priority?
