Weak neighbors are states that the Kremlin can control, so why not expand Russian power by letting Ukraine slide into protest and anarchy if by doing so it brings that country back under Putin’s thumb? Moreover, Putin himself is in the business of sterilizing Russia’s democratic processes by handpicking his successor and having his courts and electoral commissions block his opponents from political participation, often tarring them as traitors.
但是，根据普京心目中的俄罗斯国家利益，这样的干预不大可能发生。弱小的邻国可以为克里姆林宫所控制，因此，如果可以使这个国家重新回到普京的掌中，何不让乌克兰陷入纷争和无政府状态，从而扩大俄罗斯的权威？而且，普京本人也在抑制俄罗斯的民主进程。他亲手挑选自己的继任者，授意法院和选举委员会阻挠对手参与政治（通常是给对方泼上叛国者的污水）。一个如此藐视本国人民民主权利的人，怎么可能捍卫外国人的民权？