those peoples no longer under Soviet/Russian control appear to taking major steps as sovereign entities to resist Russian reestablishment of its former sphere

I hate this spheres of interest argument for exactly this reason: it logically follows that Eastern European, central Asian and Caucasian countries neither have nor deserve any sort of say in their future. If you're not a world power, you're not allowed to resist imperial expansion (yes, that's what they're doing). As an Eastern European, I refuse that denial of our autonomy out of hand.