We had an opportunity for denuclearization with START II, which the Russians canceled because they were pissed about NATO expansion, prompting 50 prominent figures, not exactly doves (from Bill Bradley to Robert McNamara to Sam Nunn) to sign an open letter opposing said expansion. I was in Russia when this happened; they were basically toothless at the time and there was real opportunity to integrate them into Europe without risk. Instead we told them to F off and tool up. There was zero reason to do this and our posture generally at that time was a major reason Russians soured on the West and Putin gained popularity.