Russia does not seem to mind supporting dictators that the US opposes . Also , Russia was looking to gain back some of the territory and influence that it had as the USSR . Since the US and Russia tend to back opposing sides in the middle east the stability of the region suffers when both states are pushing in opposite directions currently Syria . Ukraine was Romney ' s vindication on Russia . Choosing to not go to war at that time was one of Obama ' s biggest decisions not that he was in a good position to do it . Russia had momentum right then and could have made a much bigger impact on the region if Saudi Arabia hadn ' t opened the flood gates on their oil . I don ' t know much about that decision . Did the US talk them into it ? Was it a contingency plan that was discussed decades ago ? Either way there ' s still a balance to be struck , and we ' ll see how it works out .