Then again my understanding is that Putin came to power much because Yeltsin road that wind of change into the ground...
I think ruling a country was a load too heavy for his shoulders.
Iraq wouldn't have happened if the USSR had their shit together. NATO aggression and the subsequent destruction of Yugoslavia was what really sealed the deal. The Russians realized they were next (see: Chechnya) and decided to stop playing nice.
Iraq and pretty much everythink bad in the middle
East stems from ussr ivasion of Afghanistan. It's not the sole target for blame (plenty
Of that to go around for everybody) but it's what (re)started to dumpster fire.
Yeah, nothing a drunk lackey in power selling your country to the highest bidders...