It is neither pessimism nor optimism, more of an analysis. There are no polls that I know of that indicate majority support in Russia for this sort of course of action. Much like, I must say, there was never majority support of the Holocaust in the Nazi Germany. However, in society a more aggressive minority oftentimes dominates over the majority.

As for Russian dominance - yes, it exists, but the margin seems to be getting smaller and smaller every day.