Because they read history and play chess. The more obvious question is, why do you think they wouldn’t?
The Russians want, and feel they are historically entitled to, hegemony over Eurasia - something that was thwarted by England and France in the 19th century and the US in the 20th century.
One of the things that brought the Russians down in the Cold War I was $10 a barrel oil. The Iran/Iraq war flooded the market and made Russian exports much less valuable. Reagan forcefully opposed a natural gas pipeline from the Soviet Union to the west. The Russians started to run out of foreign currency. Incompetent generals panicked and tried to depose a weak and incompetent leader. They failed to control the means of propaganda during the coup and their whole rotten system collapsed.
Now oil is over $100 a barrel and the west, especially the US, is actively working to drive the price higher by destabilizing the Middle East and steadfastly refusing to develop our own resources. This puts Russia in a powerful economic position - if they can control Caspian oil.
If we continue to do nothing we could well find our selves in the same position as Russia in the late 20th century.
Do you think the Russians should learn from the Japanese who seem to have major influence in the world through economic and not military power ?