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USA didn't wanted USSR to break up. It was trying its hardest to prevent it in 80s/90s because it was afraid of nuclear proliferation and wars. USSR has broken up against all the political games - simply because people were fed up with it.

Proping up Russia right now is probably going to end up similarly - the country is just too big for its organization and economy to survive as a normal country. It can only survive as a militaristic dictatorship. And who wants that?

The West is probably generally influenced by chess. Thinking in terms of of the "Grand Go Board" would probably be less bloody, but still be confrontational on a fundamental level (concepts like my pieces vs your pieces, control, surrounding, eliminating, a winner and a loser).

The Mackinder heartland theory is self evidently incorrect. Russia has controlled the heartland for hundreds of years. But has never been the global hegemon.