Walrus, nobody thinks they were "after" Russia. But Austria-Hungary couldn't take Serbia without fighting with Russia. Russia was a long-time ally of Serbia and wouldn't stand by while yet another slavic Balkan state was absorbed by the A-H's. A-H (and Germany) struck when they did because Russia's military preparedness was at its nadir following the Russo-Japanese war. We have letters between Berlin and Vienna to this effect.

Alex