Some thoughts about Russia & WW3:

1. Russia will always come back to The West.

Why? Because The West is the only game in town, and it's the game Russia has played since at least the fall of the Soviet Union. Russian oligarchs send their kids to school in The West, they have vacation homes in The West, they keep their money in dollar bank accounts and have their investments in The West.

Russia doesn't have what it takes to go off on it's own, and trying to do so would end them up becoming a backwater like Iran. The only country who can seriously even consider a break with The West is China.

For Russia, the only possible move would be cozying up to China, and to do this would be a massive break from tradition. Russian top brass are decidedly NOT Chinese. They don't keep their money in Chinese bank accounts, they don't own Chinese real estate, they don't invest in Chinese companies. Like I said, they're Western.

It's not just a difficult transition, it is actually a BAD move. Russia has figured out how to influence politics in The West and is able to jokey for a seat at the table. The Chinese will be damned if they ever let a non-Chinese person influence Chinese politics. So cozying up to China is a one-way-street, China will gain power over Russia and that's it.