People give Russia too much credit. The narrative I've seen on Reddit lately has been that Russia controls pretty much everything in the world.
Russia is a barely middle income country with a shrinking GDP, a shrinking population and an ageing military.
Surprising that I've never heard a single story of Russian influence in my country, India. Apparently, Putin and his stooges were able to infiltrate all levels of politics and media in the rich western world, but don't give two hoots about its more direct economic rivals in the BRICS.
Russia is more interested in military rivals than in economic ones. If you talk to Russians about geopolitics, you'll notice that right away: the countries that are listed as the primary opponents are US and China, and the reasons given are always military: US leads NATO, and China has an eye on the Russian Far East. You'll never hear anyone so much as mention India, Brazil etc as competitors.
And while you're correct about your overall assessment of Russia, that is precisely why it has to resort to measures like these. It cannot compete militarily, and it cannot compete economically, so it is left to resort to Machiavellian devices to fight for (what it believes to be) its rightful place, if not on the top of the pile, then at least on the top tier of it. That's what really grates so many people in Russia, both elites and commoners - that it was a superpower, but it isn't anymore. A lot of people really, really want it to be one again. And for them, the definition of superpower is, "they fear us".
Russia is a barely middle income country with a shrinking GDP, a shrinking population and an ageing military.
Surprising that I've never heard a single story of Russian influence in my country, India. Apparently, Putin and his stooges were able to infiltrate all levels of politics and media in the rich western world, but don't give two hoots about its more direct economic rivals in the BRICS.