Russia is Silly Putty

Silly Putty	Russia
if left alone, spreads thin on the surface as a very viscous liquid until meets the wall of the container	if left alone, occupies neighboring countries until meets a vigorous armed response
if hit, elastically bounces	if attacked, resists fairly well
can be slowly pushed into a small box	can be contained by soft power (e.g., during Cold War)
hard to pry from cloth after a while	will not release occupied territories without a fight, especially after holding them for a while