I've never said Russia was a global empire like USA are. But, like it has been said, it's a strong regional power that, recently, have influence beyond its area. They still have a naval base in Syria, for exemple. And the ability to destroy the world with nuclear weapons. You just can't say it's nothing.
Their partnership with China become stronger and they can deal with NATO military power now.
In Europe, Russia have more tanks than NATO,and their missiles system are more efficient. That's pretty enough to say "NO" to the empire.
If you've seen the Stratfor director video, you can understand that in Europe, only Germany count for the empire. There is a possibility to build a continental force with Germany, France and Russia (and China), and let the anglo-saxon empire play alone.
The other possibility is to submit and let the war coming again on European soil.