>>4671413Nothing really. But Putin is probably a little bit wacko at this point, coupled with the fact that the Russian establishment got spooked and existential when Latvia basically banned teaching Russian. Now they're terrified of Ukraine joining NATO and then doing the same. They don't like the existential prospect of "traditionally Russian lands" not having Russians living there.
There's some other stuff that matters too, but Russia has a much older concept of nationalism than the west does, we've basically forgotten this brand of 19th century nationalism that still exists within Russia. The kind that can be summed up as "muh clay"
