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Notes -
Finland is further and USSR already got its nose bloodied trying to take over Finland. it could be at best third-stage, maybe fourth-stage goal - if they managed to get Ukraine, Baltic states and Asia republics would be next targets for takeovers, and only then, if that went well (which is a very far-reaching hypotheticals, given some of them are in NATO and others are pretty wary of Russia) they could put their sights on establishing some control over Finland. Given how things are going in reality, it's no more than a pipe dream - so of course they "tolerate" it, what else could they do?
No, it just occupies and fully controls them. Which gives them the benefits of ownership without the responsibilities of one (and international repercussions of such annexations). For these territories, it's enough for them to just control them, and let the local warlords deal with the rest - at least until Russia is ready to take the next steps. It is a common strategy that repeats over and over - establish a beachhead, use it to stir trouble, then advance to "maintain peace" and take the bigger piece, and repeat. Same happened in Ukraine, only due to gross incompetence and corruption all over, Putin thought they are read to take over the whole country of Ukraine, and they weren't even nearly so. That's why he didn't annex Donbass since 2014, while controlling it - he didn't need to and didn't want to, as his goal was taking over the whole country, so why bother with small pieces? Now it's clear to him this is not happening, so he tries to present it as that was the plan all along, all while the plan comes tumbling down in real time.
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