The United Kingdom and Russia can be said to be inherently opposed, thus extending a Great Game that lasted for a century, a game later inherited by the Soviet Union and Russia, though the United Kingdom, due to a decline in national strength, was replaced by the United States as the player.
This can be simply understood as the geopolitical dispute over world dominance between the Slavs and Anglo-Saxons people, involving three key regions: Europe, the Far East, and the Middle East (and Central Asia). Europe, needless to say, has witnessed hundreds of years of conflict between Western countries and Russia; the Middle East and Central Asia are also hotspots of contention, with the Russo-Japanese War reflecting the conflicts in the Far East.
When Europe's strength is robust, Russia struggles to exert influence there, leading Russia to shift its focus to the Middle East and Central Asia, ultimately choosing the Far East.
