Yeltsin/Putin seemed to have a legitimate desire to join NATO in the 90s/early 00s. Russia joining NATO would almost completely encircle China and allow the EU and US to station troops on the Chinese border. So it would have been a geopolitical masterstroke.

What is the explanation for why Russia didn't join NATO? Is it because China wasn't seen as a threat back then or is it simply cold war brainworms? Anyone have an explanation or readings on this?