The problem is that the US pledged during the breakup of the Soviet Union that they wouldn't extend NATO into the East Bloc and that they're are still treating Russia as if it were the Soviet Union and an ideologue enemy. There is no real reason to view Russia as a enemy moreso than a country like Georgia, which is also autocratic and corrupt in comparison to the west. After all the shit America has tried to pull on Russia (missle shield, NATO membership to half the Eastern bloc, dismissing their government as autocratic, supporting every anti-russian government/politican in the Eastern Bloc no matter how crazy and corrupt he is, etc.), it's not a surprise that Russia didn't establish itself as a bigger regional player earlier.