The Tails Wagging the Kremlin Dog?
In order to compensate for its growing inferiority complex, Russia has cobbled together the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which, by its title and constitutional principles, is a parody of NATO. And, true to parodic form, it is Russia's partners - the former Soviet Republics - that clearly have the upper hand.
https://prosyn.org/gH5c6da
MOSCOW – Imagine a crank who tries to pass himself off as a nineteenth-century Russian baron. He grows sideburns, wears a long frock-coat, and carries a walking stick. Anyone who runs into such a figure would sneer and mock him. Now, suppose that same crank attempted to treat passersby as if they were his serfs. In that case, he would risk getting a beating, though perhaps a few beggars would indulge his fantasies in the hope of duping him out of his money.