I understand your concern at me "miss reading your post" however i did not, nor was i quoting you on it i was generalising that many nations and people see the Russian navy as third rate and a lot of it is down to their own beliefs lack of knowledge and believing in what the west says all the time because i can assure you the reality of it all is much much different.
As for your statement, i'm not too sure Putin has the re take of the steps as a major concern right now although NATO keep a presence there, if you plot on a map every NATO and US installation you will clearly see just how much Russia and China are surrounded and this does get up the nose of both the Russians and Chinese.
I am not stating and let this be clear and not misunderstood in anyway shape or form do i condone or praise the actions of either side i am just looking at what i see i don agree with either sides actions or their foreign policies unless i state it.
The main claim is that Crimea used to be part of Russia Khrushchev gifted it to the Ukraine why did they snatch it back ? because Ukraine wouldn't extend the black sea fleets lease past 2017.
I don't think we will see much more of Russia's land grab's in the near future they have a more pressing issue in Syria to deal with.
I will be in Estonia and Russia in December and the Ukraine in January so il let you know how i feel around these places if you want.