If not earlier. I saw an article that quoted Putin as comparing himself to Peter The Great.
'The imperial title of Peter the Great was the following:[2]
By the grace of God, the most excellent and great sovereign emperor Pyotr Alekseevich the ruler of all the Russias: of Moscow, of Kiev, of Vladimir, of Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan and Tsar of Siberia, sovereign of Pskov, great prince
of Smolensk, of Tver, of Yugorsk, of Perm, of Vyatka, of Bulgaria and others, sovereign and great prince of the Novgorod Lower lands, of Chernigov, of Ryazan, of Rostov, of Yaroslavl, of Belozersk, of Udora, of Kondia and the sovereign of all the
northern lands, and the sovereign of the Iverian lands, of the Kartlian and Georgian Kings, of the Kabardin lands, of the Circassian and Mountain princes and many other states and lands western and eastern here and there and the successor and sovereign
and ruler.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Great
'In August 2022, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called Kazakhstan an “artificial state,” echoing a speech by Vladimir Putin in 2014 in which he said Kazakhs had “never known statehood,” prior to the Soviet collapse. Prominent Russian
nationalist commentators have issued similar statements in recent months.
These threats are felt in Kazakhstan, where 16 percent of the population is ethnic Russian. Russians are concentrated in the north of the country, forming a plurality in the Kostanay and North Kazakhstan regions. Russian nationalists claim that these
areas are traditionally part of Russia. In Xian, President Xi told his Kazakh counterpart that China supports “ethnic harmony,” a subtle critique of Russia’s sabre-rattling in northern Kazakhstan.'
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/6/6/russia-faces-a-new-neighbourhood-threat-china
'Ex-Russian PM claims Baltic countries belong to Russia
Firebrand Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that the Baltics belong to Russia.
Writing on Twitter, the former Russian Prime Minister referred to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as "our" provinces, saying they had "soiled themselves" over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The incendiary comments were made in response to remarks made by Emmanuel Macron last week that Moscow had "already lost geopolitically".
https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/18/ukraine-war-fear-stalks-kherson-kyiv-bombarded-baltic-countries-belong-to-russia-claim
But Vlad The Poisoner is squirming over a planned acquisition that is going poorly:
'Signs of fighting after Russia says unilateral truce comes into force in Ukraine
Artillery fire could be heard from the front line in Ukraine on Friday, even after the official start of a unilateral ceasefire declared by Moscow and rejected by Kyiv.President Vladimir Putin ordered the 36-hour ceasefire from midday on Friday to
observe Orthodox Christmas. Kyiv has said it has no intention to stop fighting, rejecting the purported truce as a stunt by Moscow to buy time to reinforce troops that have taken heavy losses this week.'
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates-jan-5/liveblog/96747955.cms
Meanwhile, lots of Russians have decided to just GTFO:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65790759
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