Is "100,000 soldiers near the Ukrainian border" a rare occurrence?

Question

In recent weeks, the US has warned of the amassing of Russian troops ("100,000 soldiers", although if you read the specific claims it's more like 50,000 and even that's not quite verified) near the Russia-Ukraine border. Russia is reported as claiming it is conducting military exercises near the border, but with much much fewer troops.

Now, obviously, states conduct military exercises, and those are often close to the relevant theaters of operations. My question is: How frequently has Russia, in the past, conducted military exercises or otherwise amassed troops on a comparable scale near its borders with neighbor states?

I realize the question is a bit tricky because the scale of the Russian activities is itself contested, but still - large-scale, tens-of-thousands of troops.

The motivation is to understand how out-of-the-ordinary - if at all - the recent reported military build-up by Russia actually is.

Answer 1

No, it is not a rare occurrence, not according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine. ‘We don’t have a Titanic here’: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy complains war talk causing panic:

Zelenskiy said the recent buildup of Kremlin forces was “no more intense” than in spring 2021. “If you look at the satellite you will see the increase of troops. You can’t assess if it’s a threat, an attack or simple rotation,” he said, adding that some of the tents for Russian soldiers appeared to be empty.

Moscow moved in additional troops before major diplomatic negotiations, he said. “...They are trying to build up psychological pressure.”

In the past, Zelenskiy has pointed out that Ukraine has been at war for eight years, since Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in 2014 and started a separatist conflict in Donbas.

These sentiments were further reinforced by Ukraine's defense minister (despite his estimates of Russian troop count being significantly greater in number than stated by OP), as of 28 January 2022, ibid 1:

Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksiy Reznikov, said 112,000 Russian servicemen were on the border, with the number increasing to about 130,000, including navy and aviation personnel.

Reznikov said the deployment was no bigger than last April, when Russia dispatched 126,000 troops. The reaction from the international community was “disproportionate”, he told the Rada.

Rada refers to Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s house of parliament.

Answer 2

The scale of the military build up is large compared to previous ones. However, analyzing President Vladimir Putin's behavior over the past decades makes it a sure bet that he has no intention whatsoever of invading Ukraine. The military build up achieves multiple objectives, including: bringing Americans to the table of negotiation regarding certain topics, drawing the world's attention to the unresolved Ukraine issue, showing the Ukraine leadership that they should think twice before continuing to relegate Russian (and other) minorities to the status of second-class citizen, etc. A probably unintended but welcome (from the Russia standpoint) side effect is the damage to the Ukraine economy, which is the reason why President Zelensky is now trying to downplay the problem of the military build up. So, while the world asks the wrong question (will Russia invades?), President Putin seems to be achieving the desired political objectives.