I think that this is a spot on analysis.
Germany and other European countries believed so strongly in the idea of Russian integration with Europe that they were willing to tie their economies to Russia as an energy supplier.
The only thing that I would add to this analysis is that Putin is not alone in his beliefs. The people around him, who are largely ex-KGB, also believe in the rebirth of the Russian empire. Putin leaving the stage will not, alone, cure this view. Although the truth is that Russia is a third-rate power and a third-rate economy. Their only strength is the USSR's stockpile of nuclear weapons.
Putin has scared the hell out of Europe and forced them to take NATO seriously. The cold war is back, with a vengeance. We can only hope that it does not become a hot war that degenerates into nuclear annihilation.
What is strange about all this is that Putin spent almost twenty years building up vast wealth. The only purpose of wealth is to spend it and use it for power. Now that Russia has become isolated, Putin's wealth is of no use to him. He has destroyed it all.
This is why I am tempted to believe the stories that Putin has a terminal illness. If he's going to die in the next few years, wealth is of no use to him either. He is bent on leaving a legacy of a resurgent Russian empire (in his own mind, but not in fact).
