Putin has seen the strength of the Soviet Union, so he has always had a Soviet dream in his heart, to reshape a Soviet-style power and compete with the United States.
Therefore, for more than 20 years in power, Putin has been fighting for the Soviet dream - supporting Belarus, pointing the sword at Georgia, pacifying Kazakhstan, and punching Ukraine......
Now, however, Putin's Soviet dream is falling apart.
The three Transcaucasian countries are trying to get rid of Russian influence. Recently, a large-scale march broke out in Georgia, demanding that the Georgian Government stay away from Russia and join the European Union and NATO; Armenia has angrily denounced Russia on more than one occasion for standing idly by in the Armenian-Arab conflict; not long ago, it ordered Russian troops to withdraw from the territory of Asia and seek cooperation with France, and there is a high probability that it will withdraw from the CSTO in the future; Azerbaijan is currently relying on the support of Turkey and other countries and is ignoring Russia at all.
Ukraine is a large granary and home to heavy industry, especially military industry, during the Soviet era, with a population of more than 40 million. If Russia takes Ukraine and gets its population, food, industry and military technology, then Russia will be able to restore 70% of the strength of the Soviet Union.
This is also the reason why in 2022, Russia blitzed Ukraine, who would have thought, kicked to an iron plate. Putin's imagination is like a bamboo, and the pot pulp does not exist, and it is replaced by a strong resistance from the Ukrainians. Russia has spent countless manpower, material and financial resources on the battlefield in Ukraine, and Ukraine has even extended the war to Russian territory, and recently, Russia's oil refineries have been hit, losing 15% of oil and gas production.
Although, the Russian army has achieved certain results on the ground battlefield and won the four eastern states of Ukraine, however, Ukraine has a steady stream of blood transfusions from Europe and the United States behind it, and once a protracted war and war of attrition are formed, it will be quite unfavorable for Russia, just like Vietnam dragged down the United States and Afghanistan dragged down the Soviet Union.
Another impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is that the five Central Asian countries have turned away from Russia, and Kazakhstan, the largest of them, has gradually distanced itself from Russia.
Kazakhstan has not only repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but also cut ties with Russia in many aspects, such as Russia's MIR payment system, etc., and it is reported that Kazakhstan is also interested in joining NATO. It is also reasonable for Kazakhstan to do this, after all, today Russia can attack its former brother Ukraine, and Russia will attack Kazakhstan in the future, Kazakhstan's strength is far inferior to Ukraine, and it has rich resources, which is a piece of fat in the eyes of Russia.
Previously, there were recordings of high-ranking Russian generals saying that Russia's decision to invade Kazakhstan had been made because Kazakhstan was his disobedience to Moscow's orders. As for several other stans, they are also more afraid than respectful of Russia, such as the previous shooting at the Moscow concert hall, and those militants were from Tajikistan.
It is obvious that Russia's influence in the five countries of Central Asia, in the Transcaucasus, and in Eastern Europe is gradually decreasing, and the former hardcore brother of the CIS is trying to get rid of Russian influence, including Armenia, Kazakhstan, etc., which can also be seen as a by-product of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
Perhaps, for Russia, it is the best policy to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible and to establish good relations with the CIS countries.