Demographics is not always destiny.
England ruled a large chunk of the world when its population was tiny. Ditto for the Mongols, Spain, Portugal, etc.
The fact that it is ridiculous doesn’t stop the Russian mindset from wanting a Eurasian empire
Yes, and Luxembourg could rule the world today if it possessed Star Trek-type technology.
Britain dominated China (with 10X the population) because it had a few gunboots - and because Chinese society was in cultural decline. Those days are gone. The technological disparities are not as great as they once were. The world has grown smaller. Youths in remote African villages that have only recently emerged from the Stone Age have iPhones and can chat with European hipsters and Portland leftists about the latest episodes of their favorite online shows.
Today, demography is destiny.
Demography is upstream from culture which is upstream from politics which is upstream from "boots on the ground."
Regards,
What Russia wants is meaningless.
The world is full of outcomes not desires.
All those countries named had advantages over the people they defeated.
Russia has no advantages. They simply have the global nuclear war card.