The problem Russia has is that one of the reasons they have money now (other than oil) is because Moscow has become a tourist and financial center. There is a lot of money going through there. If they start up their cold war crap again, the tourists will be gone and the investors pull their money out.
Which means their entire economy would rest upon oil and natural gas. Talk about skating on thin ice...
Check out the RSI since the Russian invasion of Georgia. It has seriously tanked. The investors are already bailing out.
I read several articles last week talking about the investor drain. People have already pulled out billions of $s and their stock market took a crash last week. They want it both ways. Won’t happen.