So why do you think Russia has chosen to make all this trouble at this time?
Just a guess, but I would say they were sitting back to see if we would cave and pull out of Iraq prematurely. That didn't happen, so now they are putting themselves in a position to undermine our efforts in the middleeast.
The only big thing about Russia is land area Every thing else is small: soul, aspirations, cooperative spirit, understanding of what success requires, population, birth rate, likelihood to exist as a nation in 1000 years.