Yes, the Russians, or the Soviets as they still should be called, are wasting money on their military. I do not call it Russian defense as their organization not is for defense.
The mindset of their military, including Putin and his entourage is to expand their army to “secure” their country, and bully their neighbors.
However, if we can make sure that the oil price is less than, say $80 - 90 /bbl, this behavior will be prevented.
What the Russians SAY and what they really think are rarely the same thing. They are the chess masters of deception.
As you can see in my postings above, it's about much more than just "bullying their neighbors". They don't need to increase their military much to do that. They're expanding their military influence in Latin America, supporting and strengthening Marxist dictatorships there. They've been staging joint war games with the ChiComs in regions far from their borders.