Redfern: Nobody wants to annex Poland, i can say it as Russian. No, really, we have some neutral-to-cold feelings to each other, but to annex Poland?
First, its in EU, right? So, annex would lead to freaking real war - nobody wants it
Second, dont see any real gains from annexing Poland in material way, only thing we import from there is apples...
Politicians and rulers in general want to be remembered as strong men and women. Its not like conquering a country is necessarily about material gain but more just kinda ego booster and global-willy-extender.
...personally i think thats sort of worrying, especially as "Putin has never been wrong, will never be wrong and even if he was - he certainly wont admit it.". Huge part of his politics are about building and maintaining face really. And for some reason alot of russians apparently think thats mark of "Strong Leader(tm)".