Russia did try

Self-serving, self-pitying Russian revisionist claptrap.

Russia has made no serious effort to join either institution at any point in time. Why? They're both totally antithetical to the Russian state as presently constituted, which is why they're demonized by Russian propaganda virtually all of the time.

The USSR collapsed in a shambolic fashion, driven by its own repression, contradictions, and nationalist movements within it. But Russia has never fully accepted the sovereignty of all the states it lost.

Forsaking territorial ambitions in Europe doesn't jibe with the neo-imperialist dogma upon which Putin's personal stamp of rule relies, but it's absolutely essential for membership in multilateral European institutions. It's a bare-minimum criteria: along with commitment to international cooperation, anti-corruption, human rights, and rule-of-law issues that Russia has run roughshod over the last couple decades.

Even soft-authoritarian member-states like Hungary and Turkey create serious friction within NATO and/or the E.U. A hard-authoritarian state like Russia is a non-starter.

Anyone interested in a healthy future for Russia and its people - Russian Lives Matter! - agrees it should be free, democratic, prosperous, peaceful, and (ideally) inside both the NATO and the E.U. That would turn the tables on other authoritarian powers, like China.

But there's a whole lot of internal work that needs to happen before then. Post-Ukraine invasion, Russia is farther away from all of those goals than ever.

Pure mince. Plus you've just explained why Russia should take precautions against this aggressive alliance.

Russia is already democratic ya weapon.

Not being invited to join the cool-kids' lunch table is not a justification for showing up one day in fatigues and a semi-auto and shooting up the school. Just ask any number of other states who have felt jilted by the E.U. or NATO for whatever reason, but didn't start a war over it.

Russia needs more social skills and a stable, nurturing household environment.

Oh yes, why can't Russia just do what the west tells it to do and allow itself to be encircled and attacked under false pretences.

You really are daft aren't you.

Well, no.

Russia can't join NATO and/or the E.U. simply by sending a nicely-worded letter while reforming none of its own corrupt practices, thereby turning both institutions into a mockery of themselves. That might suit Putin's interests nicely, but no.

The salient questions are really simple, and they're asked of every applicant to the E.U./NATO and re-asked of members on an ongoing basis:

--Is [state] a real democracy, or not?
--Does [state] have the rule-of-law, or not?
--Is [state] willing to cooperate with other member-states on international law issues, such as corruption and war-crimes prosecutions, or not?
--Does [state] respect human rights within and outside its borders to a satisfactory minimum, or not?
--(If applicable, and certainly applicable to the case of Russia): Has [state] forsaken its imperial-era ambitions of dominating its neighbors, or not?

Bottom-line question: Is [state] a part of modern Europe, or not?
Even more simplified: Has [state] stopped being a bully, or not?

The answer? Watch it for yourself on Russian state TV every night. The rulers of Russia detest NATO & the E.U. for all of the above reasons.

Ok lets have a look at whether or not Russia qualifies for NATO membership:

--Is [state] a real democracy, or not?
Yes. Russia has been a democracy since 1991.
--Does [state] have the rule-of-law, or not?
Yes. Some of the best laws in the world.
--Is [state] willing to cooperate with other member-states on international law issues, such as corruption and war-crimes prosecutions, or not?
Yes. Russia is cleaning up Ukraines corruption as we speak.
--Does [state] respect human rights within and outside its borders to a satisfactory minimum, or not?
Yes.
--(If applicable, and certainly applicable to Russia): Has [state] forsaken its imperial-era ambitions of dominating its neighbors, or not?
Yes. Russia hasn't annexed any foreign territory that didn't vote for it.

Bottom-line question: Is [state] a part of modern Europe, or not?
Yes.
Even more simplified: Has [state] stopped being a bully, or not?
Russia isn't the US or Israel.

--Is [state] a real democracy, or not?
Yes. Russia has been a democracy since 1991.

>>No. Russia is a stage-managed democracy where opposition parties are co-opted with Kremlin cash, and the real opposition is jailed or executed. There is no freedom of the press and limited flow of information to assist voters in making any meaningful informed choice. Those who attempt to access non-propagandistic sources do so at their own risk. Russia's surveillance state isn't quite as sophisticated and pervasive as China's, simply because the Russian state isn't as competent as China's, but Putin certainly wants to get it there.

--Does [state] have the rule-of-law, or not?
Yes. Some of the best laws in the world.

>>Russian billionaires fall out of windows regularly. When even billionaires are treated with this much contempt by the state, the average person doesn't stand a chance. Russian "law" binds but does not protect Russians, while the "law" protects, but does not bind, Vladimir Putin himself and those who currently enjoy his favor.

--Is [state] willing to cooperate with other member-states on international law issues, such as corruption and war-crimes prosecutions, or not?
Yes. Russia is cleaning up Ukraines corruption as we speak.

>>Oh. The corruption Russia itself introduced to Ukraine by funneling suitcases of petrodollars to sympathetic politicians? That corruption? No, when the war broke out, it recalled every corrupt Ukrainian politician and influence-peddling agent it could and set them up in nice pads.

--Does [state] respect human rights within and outside its borders to a satisfactory minimum, or not?
Yes.

>>Snort. Not by the E.U./NATO's definition, nor by any objective reality.

--(If applicable, and certainly applicable to Russia): Has [state] forsaken its imperial-era ambitions of dominating its neighbors, or not?
Yes. Russia hasn't annexed any foreign territory that didn't vote for it.

>>Gun-barrel referendums called in a snap in active warzones, where there's no voter registration or campaigning and no international observers allowed are another component of Russian stage-managed "democracy."

Bottom-line question: Is [state] a part of modern Europe, or not?
Yes.

>>No.

Even more simplified: Has [state] stopped being a bully, or not?
Russia isn't the US or Israel.

>>The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars, dumb though they were, both look like tea parties next to the wholesale carnage and war crimes of the Ukraine War. Israel isn't in NATO or E.U.