As we all know, Russia is a power in continuous decline. It likes to posture as a great power, but its military is weak, its economy is small, and its population is in free-fall.
And that's just the most obvious problems Russia faces.
So this is my challenge. With a POD no earlier than... oh, let's say 1979, make/keep Russia (or the Soviet Union if you wish), a great(er) power.
By the way, by Great Power I don't mean a country than can go toe-to-toe with America in WW3. But if you look at Russia now, with a strong EU to its left, a rising China to its south, and its old friend America to its right, well, its enough to break someone's heart. I'm looking for a Russia that isn't so politically weak on the world stage compared to these other powers.