How do you get Russia to focus on eastward expansion, such as Central Asia, the Caucasus, or Persia, rather than westward expansion like Poland, Crimea, and the Baltic in the 18th century? Historically, Russia did send some military expeditions and explorations to the east, but nothing to the scale of the military campaigns they orchestrated in Europe. Would a strong Polish-Lithuania bulwark and/or hegemonic Sweden be able to push Russia from the West? Or would Russia require some sort of pull from the East, if so what would suffice?