Nevertheless, if NATO expands to Russia’s borders, these ‘frontline’ states will next agitate for NATO/U.S. tripwire forces and that, in turn, will require contingency planning for rapid reinforcement and so the commitment will grow. Thus Russia only needs to be a strong regional power to be more or less permanently on NATO’s/ US’s radar once again, like in the old days.

Nope.

Everything is pretty much working against their re-emergence
as a super power. Demographics, economics, politics, you name it.
Rusia had a brief power surge when the price of oil peaked and it
suddenly, unexpectedly (and temporarily) found its pockets
litterally stuffed with cash. Now that oil has tanked again, it’s
back in the shadows, and all the long-term lines for it seem to be
trending down, not up. Even the next rie in oil prices will do litle
more than give it another short-term cash transfusion. The long-
term fundamentals aren’t changing, asfar as I can see.

Could it turn thing around? You bet. But I don’t see any evidence
that the current political leadership has any interest in the
fundamental reorganization of its economy that is required.

Maybe someone else who watches Russia closer than I do has seen
something I haven’t?

Anyway – what or where is “Russia” nowadays?

Okay; the great, amorphous Soviet Union is dissipated from a
former massive conglomerate land-massed empire chuck-full of
incredible shared European history. Today She appears to be
coalescing once more into a new ‘conglomerate online empiric
database’ that looks to outdo anything ‘US Microsoft ever did’.
E.g. I for one in my dotage glance, with available monies to
invest, favourably toward ‘the lovely delights of St. Petersburg’
for more substantial returns. –

Don’t you?