[swaghauler]

A resurgent Socialist regime in Russia would not have received Western aid in the early through mid 90's (as it did in our real history). This would have led to Russia seeking monetary aid "elsewhere" in the world. Two immediate options would have been sanctioned Iran and Iraq. Russia could have traded Arms (and nuclear development assistance) for oil; Deteriorating its relationship with the West even more. Another area where Russia could have gained actual "capital" in US dollars would have been through the South American Drug Cartels. They have always had a "working agreement" with the Russian Mafia; Imagine how far they could extend their power if they bought Russian tanks, helos, and planes. You could go so far as to assert that the Cartels toppled the US friendly Mexican government and installed a "puppet regime" in response to joint US/Mexican operations against them. They have huge levels of funding and the Russians were more than willing to provide the new regime with the hardware and "training assistance" needed to keep them in power (at the appropriate cost, of course). This would also help explain the invasion of US soil. The Cartels were just securing their "drug trafficking routes" into the US.