I don't get how Russia is being made out to be this huge threat to the west.
I know many have replied already, but I'll give you something concrete. They fund a small belgian news outlet called
Euro Rus, which aims for a united europe/russia alliance.
Now this just seems like a silly web blog run by this weird guy (who lives in my city) but through this funding they invited ex-KKK member
David Duke a few years ago. Now David Duke is a high profile visitor, but these kind of meetings in the extreme right/nationalistic/fascist sphere are being hold regularly, and all through external funding. The Russia/EU alliance they push is actually 100% nationalistic/whitepride/anti muslim/anti immigrant/anti LGBT propaganda.
In return, this guy who runs the blog gives pro russian speeches in russian media and is seen as an ally in both press and politics.
You can read about it here:
http://eutoday.net/news/euro-rus
But this is just one tiny example of a guy who lives 2 km from me.