Honestly just goes back to that absolute dolt Yeltsin in the end. He delivered Russia to the neoliberal oligarchic hordes, was given a verbal promise by Bush admin v1 that NATO would expand, and because he had a ridiculous fantasy of Russia joining NATO, decided not to turn that verbal promise into a signed treaty. Then he realized how much of an idiot he'd been, and how badly he got played, and started crying about it. By that time the damage was done, and the US pulled the rug out from underneath Russia.
Honestly just goes back to that absolute dolt Yeltsin in the end. He delivered Russia to the neoliberal oligarchic hordes, was given a verbal promise by Bush admin v1 that NATO would expand, and because he had a ridiculous fantasy of Russia joining NATO, decided not to turn that verbal promise into a signed treaty. Then he realized how much of an idiot he'd been, and how badly he got played, and started crying about it. By that time the damage was done, and the US pulled the rug out from underneath Russia.
and Putin is the product of that, Russia post soviet was shitty.