I guess the irony is that, in the long run, it turned Russia into an even stronger competitor.

It's hard to say how Russia would look like without the Revolution. It could be democratic.

Seeing how and where Kerenskij directed Russia after the february coup, we can safely say that Russia would be non-existent. Just like Ottoman or Habsburg empires, that disappeared at the same time.

But Russia would be on the winning side. But that's just some alternative history.

I don't know why everybody assumes the Russian populace doesn't like Putin.