So are you saying saying for a powerful Russia/USSR/CIS/whatever to work, it needs central asian oil and manpower alongside Ukrainian vast food supplies, ports, and its Slavic population to balance out the Turkics in Central Asia?
Ukrainian industries were even more important. Central Asia excluding Kazakhstan was less important for the "Eurasian Union" but it was came up in the set with the Soviet/Eurasian Union/USS/Great Russia until 1991. I can see the Soviet/Eurasian Union even without Ukraine but it would be very unstable construction due the Russian share in the Union and conflicts between RF and the Union
And that grabbing Crimea, though popular, would permanently drive the rest of Ukraine away from Russia and wad therefore not pursued, iut of hope for Ukraine’s return to Russia’s sphere of influence?
There was people like Rutskoi who could prefer a "little victorious war" and the Tricolour over Simferopol more than long-term strategy but Yeltsin didn't let him come to power. He could see that the Russian strategy works: Ukraine agreed with the Russian naval base in Sevastopol and Russian capital had more freedom of action in Ukraine than western one.
And, at risk of going off topic, what policies are those, out of curiosity?
It was in the economic sphere, first of all, like active custom wars and desire to sell gas to Ukraine more expensive than to Germany. Also, there was more military incidents like Tuzla crisis but Ukrainian political class with little exceptions didn't want to see the writing on the wall.
Zhirinovsky is the Russian nationalist candidate right?
Yes. There is a TL about his presidency in the AH.com but based more on the rule of cool than realism.
So you’re saying NATO expansion wasn’t even really desired until they saw serious potential for a Russian expansionist to come to power?
If we talk about the Western powers, yes.
Bush 41 understood this hense his Chicken Kiev speech
Bush's trying to save the Soviet Union was caused by saving the status quo reasons and non-desire to have a deal with a Russian-Ukrainian war like in Yugoslavia and new nuclear powers after the USSR dissolution