As we all know, the US and its NATO allies rejoiced and claimed victory when the Soviet Union collapsed.
But what the US didn't realize at the time, or even up to now, is that with a Russia that is no longer spreading communist ideology, countries that were once afraid of close relations with it no longer have that fear, and are approaching Russia, to the detriment of the west.
Also, Russia adopted the capitalist economic model. This has made the Russian economy more connected to that of the US and rest of Europe. So any attempt to economically isolate Russia, or 'punish' it with sanctions will inevitably hurt the US and the EU in the long-run. This means that the west has a lot less options to use to bring Russia to heel.
Russia has also been pivoting to Asia. It has established relationships with Asian countries that in the past tried to keep Russia at arm's length because of the fear that Russia will try to impose communism on them.
So maybe it is Russia who 'won' the cold war?
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