Russian nationalism was always present in Russian society, even during the Soviet days. Just like people in America have degrading jokes about rednecks, similarly, even during the Soviet days, the people from the Russian republic of the USSR had many insulting jokes about people from Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, and the minorities that were a part of the Russian republic of the USSR.
Russian society has always been anti-Semite and chauvinist and has had resistance and prejudice against all different and alien ethnicities and nations. The unity was always held with force and terror was always imposed by the government. All territories that now comprise Russian Federation were acquired by force, bribery, or both. Imperial Russia added more territories, Soviet Russia added more territories, and today’s Russia is adding territories