I tend to agree, and it may even be practical.
As long as Russia is desperate for cash, they will keep playing games with Iran and China, exporting weapons and expertise. (Note, for example, the convoy of Russian "diplomats" who came under fire as they left Baghdad in 2003 - one can certainly wonder whether they "asked for it". Somehow.)
There is also pride to consider. Nostalgia works wonders, and nothing would fire up Russia like a good old fashioned Cold War II. That would sure put Chechnya back in to its place.
And the Rest of the USSR.
Russia is no longer desperate for cash. It has been on a building boom. Both Russia and China have been putting all of their spare money into thier respective militaries, and selling weapons is a way to get this money without setting off alarms in the West.
Shiver me Timbers! You mean those remarkable Soviet Scud Missiles that Sodamn Insane bought and tossed at us?
If the soviets were so powerful the shepherding afghans wouldn't have kept them at bay for so long.
Too much reactor fallout in Russia for my taste.